Get ready for 17 days of theatre, music, art, opera, dance, film and food.
Showcasing some of Australia and the world's most boundary pushing acts, Adelaide Festival breathes life into long summer days and balmy Adelaide evenings. Adelaide Festival 2021 will see more than 70 events from local and national artists take over Adelaide from 26 February to 14 March, including 10 world premieres, 14 Australian premieres and 18 events exclusive to Adelaide. Here’s our top picks of not-to-be-missed shows at this year’s Adelaide Festival.
1. Jessica Mauboy, 27 February
Australian pop icon Jessica Mauboy will kick off the Adelaide Festival celebrations on Saturday 27 with a massive free concert at Adelaide Oval. For music lovers, The Summerhouse (previously known as the Palais) is the go-to venue for balmy summer nights with music acts including Ben Lee, San Cisco and Wafia all taking to the stage.
2. FANGIRLS, 27 February to 14 March
From the mind of Sydney-born writer Yve Blake, FANGIRLS is a brand-new musical production that ignited a bidding was amongst major US and UK producers. Featuring some of the best established and up and coming voices, the musical explores the portrayal of female fans verse their male counterparts. Equal parts funny, sassy and provoking, this powerful performance is set to be one of the best shows at Adelaide Festival 2021.
3. Ngarku'adlu (Let's eat), 13 and 14 MARCH
Discover South Australia’s incredible native foods at Ngarku'adlu (Let's eat). Pull up a seat at a fine dining dinner or lavish picnic and let Australia’s finest First Nations chefs, including Australia’s only Indigenous hatted chef Clayton Donovan, take you on a culinary journey through the food that has provided sustenance for countless generations. The menu will feature 100% locally sourced, seasonal and wild harvested produce with an emphasis on supporting Aboriginal enterprises.
4. The Plastic Bag Store, 26 February to 11 MARCH
Stroll down the aisles of a supermarket where the shelves are filled entirely of plastic. Created by Brooklyn-based artist and filmmaker Robin Frohard using only upcycled plastic bags and rubbish, The Plastic Bag Store is an equal parts funny and horrific exploration into the disposable nature of society and excessively packaged groceries. Not your average trip to the supermarket, Rundle Mall is the free exhibition’s international debut.
5. THE PULSE, 25 February to 3 March
With 60 acrobats and dancers and a 30-voice-strong choir, The Pulse is the ultimate post-lockdown celebration. Exploring the primal need for human contact, the all-Australian work from the award-inning team behind Out of Chaos is feast for the eyes and ears.
ADELAIDE WRITERS' WEEK: 27 FEBRUARY TO 4 MARCH
The lush lawns of the beautiful Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden in Adelaide will be home to the Adelaide Writers' Week from 27 February to 4 March. With this year’s theme, Unstable Ground, taking a deep dive into the year that was and what lies ahead, take a seat and listen to some of the world's best (and greatest up-and-coming) writers and thought provokers discuss their innermost thoughts; fiction and non-fiction, biography and crime, recipes and politics. International authors from across the globe will appear via a live stream, with confirmed writers so far including Arundhati Roy, William Gibson, Richard Flanagan, Trent Dalton, Julia Gillard and Malcolm Turnbull.
FIND OUT WHAT’S ON IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
There’s so much to see and do in South Australia in summer! If you're looking for more festival fun, checkout Adelaide Fringe or find out what’s on this season.
