2015 Adelaide Festival of Arts program

A free digital arts transformation of the Riverbank Precinct, a spectacular concert featuring film composer Danny Elfman and an expansive Bill Viola showcase are just some of the highlights of next year’s Adelaide Festival of Arts. The 30th Adelaide Festival features 22 Australian premieres and 26 exclusive events including the ambitious digital arts event Blinc, which will open the Festival on Friday, February 27 and will continue every night of the festival for free. Adelaide Festival Artistic Director David Sefton says Blinc is the “most ambitious public art event the festival has ever presented”. One of the most acclaimed and unique film composers of our time, Danny Elfman, will be in Adelaide for the production Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton, a showcase of some of the memorable scores he’s composed for director Burton which includes Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman. Composed by John Mauceri, the concert will be held at the Entertainment Centre and will be performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Festival Chorus with Bertie Blackman and Elfman guesting on vocals. The highlights of the program are below MUSIC Unsound: Returns for a third year with perhaps its most impressive line-up to date, as Detroit techno and electro innovators Model 500 will headline the electronic music festival within a festival. Other acts booked for Unsound across the three nights in Freemasons Hall include Shackleton, Hieroglyphic Being, The Bug, Vatican Shadow and Fushitsusha. Tommy: This radical jazz reimagining of The Who’s double album by Eric Mingus and Hal Willner will feature 18 musicians and is an exclusive. Fela! The Concert: A concert version of the Broadway musical about Afrobeat originator Fela Kuti. Gavin Bryars in Residence: The contemporary composer will lead a series of concerts while in Adelaide including a performance of his seminal Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet. Blow the Bloody Doors Off!!: Multi-instrumentalist Terry Edwards celebrates the music of four iconic Michael Caine films:, Alfie, The Ipcress File, The Italian Job and Get Carter. Joining the former Higsons member is comedian Phill Jupitus (Never Mind the Buzzcocks). Abdullah Ibrahim: The acclaimed South African pianist will perform an exclusive solo show in celebration of his 80th birthday. Other music highlights: Richard Thompson Electric Trio Mogwai WOMADelaide THEATRE Beauty and the Beast: Best known to Adelaide audiences for their burlesque show The Freak and the Showgirl, Mat Fraser and his burlesque star wife Julie Atlas Muz have teamed up for an adult retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. The Cardinals: The UK’s Stan’s Cafe presents a humorous Biblical odyssey. Nufonia Must Fall: A multi-disciplinary puppet show from turntablist and graphic novelist Kid Koala that features Canada’s Afiara Quartet. Black Diggers: The Queensland Theatre Company’s production by director Wesley Enoch and writer Tom Wright tells the untold stories of Indigenous Australian ANZACs. SmallWar: Valentijn Dhaemens (Fight Night) returns to the Festival for a companion piece to 2014’s BigMouth, a digital theatre production that is a meditation on war. Other theatre highlights: La Merda Jack and the Beanstalk Bob Kingdom Azimut Beckett Triptych riverrun DANCE Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet: The American company makes their exclusive Australian debut with four works. VISUAL ARTS Blinc: The creators of the Welsh light-based arts festival will curate work by more than 20 artists featuring video, 3D, LED and laser lighting. Bill Viola: The work of the American video artist will be presented across three venues, The Art Galley of SA, Queen’s Theatre and St Peter’s Cathedral. Trent Parke: The Art Gallery of SA will present the Adelaide photographer’s seven-year journey The Black Rose. Adelaide Festival February 27 to March 15 adelaidefestival.com.au