Darwin Festival Announces 2021 Programme

Darwin Festival 2021 is bringing big ideas and unique perspectives to stages and venues across Darwin from 5-22 August. The Festival's 2021 program of 84 events is out now! Learn more below.

Over 18 hot August days and nights, Darwin Festival will offer theatrical performances, live music acts in the country, cabaret and circus, cross cultural collaborations, dancefloors under the stars, and more.

An all-star line-up of Australian talent will share the spotlight with an inspiring showcase of Northern Territory talent, with locals represented in every genre of the program. Some of the incredible shows on offer have been years in the making, while others have been forged directly through the trials of 2020.

The open-air INPEX Sunset Stage will feature live music gigs from the likes of Ngaiire, JessB, Gordon Koang, Montaigne, Rainbow Chan, Miiesha, King Stingray, Fanny Lumsden and Angie McMahon. This vibrant contemporary music line up is completed with Flight Facilities, who will be headlining an epic night under the stars at The Amphitheatre, alongside Confidence Man and Sycco.

Cabaret will also be coming in hot with the likes of Constantina Bush and Selina Jenkins, Unsung powerhouses Amelia Ryan and Libby O'Donovan and Reuben Kaye, bringing an explosion of high camp and filthy humour in The Butch is Back.

Comedy greats from across the country are bringing the laughs including Hannah Gadsby, Zoë Coombs Marr, Karen from Finance, Dilruk Jayasinha, Ivan Aristeguieta and Oliver Twist.

This year Darwin Festival looks to the future by making space for the voices of young people. Generations collide in I've Been Meaning To Ask You, as 16 plucky performers aged 9-13 from Darwin's Corrugated Iron Youth Arts take the stage, and the power, for a rollicking hour of hard questions and home truths. Aspiring teen DJs and party planners pack the most fun possible into a shipping container in 10 Minute Dance Parties, under the guidance of Melbourne artist JOF. And a collective of young performers cast a fresh light on the plight of children in detention in We All Know What's Happening, in collaboration with theatre makers Lara Thoms and Samara Hersch.

A canopy of 3,000 colourful dream flags will fly high at the Darwin Waterfront for Fly Me Up To Where You Are, a conceptual project that started in 2020 representing the hopes and dreams of Darwin's young people. While the City of Darwin Teddy Bears' Picnic returns to The Esplanade for a big day out for the littlest art lovers and Justine Clarke headlines a huge free concert to close out the family fun at the end of the Festival.

Darwin Festival Artistic Director Felix Preval said, "Our 2021 Festival is packed with big ideas and big nights out; it's an invitation to the community to come together and have enjoy the best time of the year in Darwin.

"The program features 194 performances, spread across 30 venues and featuring 597 artists from around Australia, the Territory, and even a few kiwis who made it through the bubble. So, whether you're a local looking for some dry season fun, or an visitor seeking an escape from the winter chills, we're looking forward to hosting you for this year's Festival."

Minister for Major Events, Natasha Fyles said, "Darwin Festival provides a million and one reasons for people to head to the Top End and support the Arts and Hospitality sectors.

"They get to see world-class acts perform alongside incredible Territory artists who have earnt themselves a spot in this first-class festival.

"They also get to experience everything Darwin and our tourism industry has to offer.

"This year's program is remarkable, as the event continues to elevate its position on the national festival circuit.

"The Northern Territory Government proudly supports this event to grow the visitor economy and provide new performance and business opportunities Territorians."

Tickets for the Darwin Festival are on sale from 9am Friday 18 June at www.darwinfestival.org.au.

To post a comment, you must register and login.