Welcome to 2024, which is already shaping up to be an exciting year for the arts. This is a brief preview looking into the first six months of programming from our partners in the fields of film, music and theatre.
Australian Theatre for Young People
This year, the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is keeping audiences on their toes by releasing their major productions one event at a time. The first big production in 2024 is SAPLINGS, as part of the Sydney Festival. This is an original work by Yuwaalaraay playwright Hannah Belanszky and Kalkadoon director Abbie-lee Lewis. Belanszky’s writing, as noted by Theatre Haus, is “beautifully balanced with hilarious one-liners, heartfelt conversations, and vulnerable characters that supports the work, and engages its audience, from start to finish.”
SAPLINGS is a collection of hilarious and heartbreaking stories which give an honest and raw look into the Australian youth justice system, set to a soundtrack of original rap and hip-hop.
Sydney Film Festival
2024 marks the 71st iteration of the Sydney Film Festival (SFF), which takes place from 5-16th June. The SFF program celebrates the best of world cinema, screening features, documentaries, short films, retrospectives and a series of industry and public talks. In 2023, over 250 productions from over 70 countries were selected for the festival, attracting an audience of over 110,000. Currently, the festival is finalising its selection process, with submissions closing in early March. The 2024 season also celebrates the 55th year of the Festival’s Australian short film competition, making it the oldest short film competition in Australia. This year’s festival is sure to be filled with a wide-ranging selection of films to suit all tastes, from local to international creatives. Follow Giving Culture and SFF for all program updates as they are released.
Australian Chamber Orchestra
The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) presents a diverse lineup of performances combining the traditional and the contemporary. From trailblazing productions of grit and ambition to collaborations with great artists from across the globe, this season will be one not to miss.
ACO’s first production, RIVER (1-16th Feb) is a collaborative project between ACO’s Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, and the film’s director Jennifer Peedom, with distinctive narration from esteemed actor Willem Dafoe. RIVER is a cinematic odyssey exploring the waterways that have shaped our world, and features a diverse blend of iconic scores from Bach, Ravel, Radiohead, Tognetti and peerless Indigenous composer William Barton. After its premiere screening in 2022, Sandra Hall in the Sydney Morning Herald wrote that “River does not request your attention. It demands your surrender.”
The first half of the ACO 2024 Season also features performances in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong with programs from Beethoven (9-24th March), Mahler (12-16th May), and world-renowned cellist and master storyteller Nicolas Altstaedt (14-30th June).
Find Out More
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