Darlinghurst Theatre Company Announces Upcoming FLING FEST

On Thursday 28 October, Darlinghurst Theatre Company will fling open its doors and invite audiences back to its home at the Eternity Playhouse. Building on what has become a company tradition, Artistic Director Amylia Harris has assembled another jam-packed lineup for what she is calling a Fling Festival. "We're all desperate to break up with lockdown and enjoy some non-committal spring fun," she says. "Our community needs to find joy, but on its own terms. Everyone's been told what to do for so long and now it's time to curate our own post-lockdown experience. You be you!"

Thirsty Thursdays is back by popular demand, bringing the New York piano bar vibe to the heart of Darlo. Curated by Andrew Bukenya, weekly guests will be handpicked from the crème de la crème of musical theatre and cabaret, adding razzle dazzle to these open mic nights. Musical theatre icon Margi de Ferranti opens the season on 28 October with Bev Kennedy on piano. Andrew Bukenya will also launch Looking Up: Classical from a New Perspective - an up-close and intimate encounter with classical music in a unique and non-traditional setting. If Fling is about breaking up with lockdown, then Looking Up is Darlo's alternative to the strictures of the conservative music scene. Tea and cakes will be served as music lovers kick back on bean bags and enjoy a soundscape conjured up by some of Sydney's best classical musicians. Looking Up premieres on 17 November with a second session on Wednesday 1 December.

On Saturday 30 October, Queer Table Reads will see Sydney's favourite LGBTQIA+ performers bring their all-time favourite cult cinema classics to the stage with a queer twist. This Halloween they're presenting the Reese Witherspoon classic - Legally Blonde. This event will be produced and hosted by Sydney comedian Jenna Suffern, who promises, "it will give the queer community and its allies a reason to just have a laugh in this weird, chaotic world we live in."

The Fling Festival program also includes two spoken word poetry events titled Revolution Renegade, with MADAM3EMPRESS and Bangarra artist and storyteller Daniel Mateo scheduled to feature during the festival. "We speak the unspeakable," says founding performance artist and activist, Mel Ree, "we connect to each other so profoundly, suddenly life seems possible again. Revolution is the vibe / Renegade is the go." A hit at Giant Dwarf, Revolution Renegade will be held on 6 November and returns to close the festival on 11 December.

Grounded Sydneysiders may not have had much to laugh about recently, but they can still look forward to an alternative kind of 'inflight' entertainment when Sky Queenz transform the theatre's cabaret space into a first-class aircraft cabin on 20 and 27 November. Complete with upgrades (and downgrades), this drag extravaganza is presented by Leave It to Diva - the team behind the hugely popular Priscilla Spectacular and Come Fly with Me.

For further details about the Fling Festival and to book tickets, visit www.darlinghursttheatre.com/flingfestival.

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