Sydney burst into a celebration of the performing and visual arts in the annual Sydney Festival which opened in 2012 on January 7 and continued until January 29, taking in Australia Day events on January 26.
Theatre came into play, music played its tune, dance twinkled its toes, art exhibited its magic.
Not only did the events take place within Sydney city itself but also in its outlying suburbs.
First Night
Festival First Night at Hyde Park, photo by Prudence Upton, courtesy Sydney Festival 2012
The festival's traditional First Night comprised a number of free events spread out through the city. Among the First Night events:
From 3pm on January 7, DJ Norman Jay parked his double-decker bus in Hyde Park to begin an eight-hour dancing session. On College St, on the eastern side of Hyde Park, the aerial performance As the World Tipped took place as evening began to fall on the city. On Elizabeth St, the Jolly Boys and the Sirens Big Band catered for dancing feet.
The children were not forgotten as Holly Throsby, Caspar Babypants and Erth's puppets performed from mid-afternoon, also at Hyde Park.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales remained open until late with music, film and performances.
Theatre
Tis Pity She's a Whore, photo courtesy Cheek by Jowl Theatre Company
A variety of theatre events took place during the Sydney Festival, among them:
- Buried City by Raimondo Cortese from an original concept by director Alicia Talbot is presented by Sydney Festival, Urban Theatre Projects and Belvoir at Belvoir St Upstairs Theatre from January 8 and was coninuing until February 5.
- A History of Everything, from text by Alexander Devriendt and Joeri Smet in collaboration with the cast, and with fragments of David Eagleman's Sum, at Wharf 2 Theatre from January 13 to 31.
- La Putyka, a fusion of acrobatics, dance, theatre, puppetry and live music exploring Czech pub culture, at Riverside Theatre from January 13 to 18.
- Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery in a Frantic Assembly and National Theatre of Scotland production, at the Seymour Centre from January 18 to 29.
- 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford in a Cheek by Jowl (UK) production at Sydney Theatre from January 17 to 21.
Music
Keystone Festival Bar, photo by Prudence Upton, courtesy Sydney Festival 2012
Already a number of music events — such as those of Beth Oroton at City Recital Hall on January 17 and 18 and UK musician PJ Harvey at the State Theatre on January 18 and 19 — had been sold out as of November 2011, with waiting lists for some other events already full.
Music events took place at various venues including Sydney Opera House, The Domain, The Famous Spiegeltent, Keystone Festival Bar at Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Riverside Theatres in Parramatta, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith, Sutherland Entertainment Centre south of Sydney and The Concourse at Chatswood north of the city.
The free event Symphony in The Domain: The Young Ones took place in The Domain on January 21 where young musicians performed the classics with the Sydney Symphony and ended the concert with the traditional climax of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky.
With three performances at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on January 27 and 28, the Sydney Symphony played the Leonard Bernstein orchestral score, and in time with the screening, of the digitally remastered West Side Story movie.
Dance
Babel, photo by Koen Broos, courtesy Sydney Festival 2012
In addition to the free First Night dance events, other dance programs included:
- Anatomy of an Afternoon, choreographed by Martin del Amo and performed by Paul White, at the Sydney Opera House Playhouse from January 9 to 16.
- Assembly, devised by Chunky Move's Gideon Obarzanek and Victorian Opera music director Richard Gill, at City Recital Hall, Angel Place, from January 11 to 14.
- Babel (Words), created by European choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet in a towering set of cubes by British sculptor Antony Gormley, at Sydney Theatre from January 9 to 14.
- I Am Eora with 30 Aboriginal musicians, performers and creative artists collaborating in a fusion of dance, performance, film, art, literature and musical styles at CarriageWorks from January 8 to 14.
- Never Did Me Any Harm by director/choreographer Kate Champion at Wharf 1 Theatre from January 6 and running until February 12.
Visual Arts
Art Gallery of NSW © Tourism New South Wales
Art exhibitions in the Sydney Festival included:
- 181 Regent St: Addressing Black Theatre Exhibition from January 8 to 29 and Travelling Colony from January 8 to February 6 at CarriageWorks, 245 Wlson St, Eveleigh.
- Edge of Elsewhere from January 13 to 29 at Campbelltown Arts Centre and from Jauary 23 to 28 at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 181 Hay St, Haymarket.
- I Am A Camera from January 13 to 15 at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, and from January 17 to 22 at the Seymour Centre, City Rd and Cleveland St, Chippendale.
- Narelle Jubelin: Vision in Motion until January 28 at University Art Gallery, University of Sydney, Camperdown.
- Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris, until January 29 at the Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Rd, The Domain, but continuing beyond the festival period.
- youtopia from January 12 to 26 at Tin Sheds Gallery, Univerity of Sydney Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, 148 City Rd, Chippendale.
All dates and times of Sydney Festival events were according to material published by the Sydney Festival and were subject to change.
