NSW Government Supports 2014 Sydney Festival

The Domain © Prudence Upton

The NSW Government has provided almost $6 million to stage the 2014 Sydney Festival.

“And Black Diggers, a landmark new Aboriginal theatre and music performance, supported by the NSW Government to the tune of $100,000, will be one of the first Australian cultural events to mark the centenary of World War I when it has its world premiere at this year’s Sydney Festival,” Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris said.

“The production will mark the centenary of World War I with a world premiere event at the Sydney Opera House and features an all-male, all-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cast, telling some of the largely unknown stories of Australia’s Aboriginal wartime legacy.”

Mr Souris said Sydney Festival was one of Australia’s most significant arts and cultural festivals and a major drawcard for tourists who travel to the city to join in the celebrations, which last year contributed $56.8 million to the NSW economy.

Sydney program highlights include: Festival headline act, Dido & Aeneas at the Lyric Theatre; Malian musical stars, Amadou & Mariam, at the Sydney Town Hall; Sean Parker & Company performing the world premiere of Am I at the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre and a free installation that's likely to be a hit with the kids, Stonehenge, an inflatable castle in Hyde Park North.

Carriageworks will host an extended program in 2014 including: renowned artist, Christian Boltanski's show, Chance; The Serpent's Table; a co-production from Performance 4A and Griffin Theatre Company featuring story-telling, installation and food; and aerial acrobatics in the world premiere of physical theatre performance, Forklift by Kage.

Mr Souris said NSW Government funding for the 2014 Sydney Festival also includes support for a dedicated 10-day program in Parramatta.

“Sydney Festival demonstrates the crucial role that arts and culture play in our society – reflecting back to us the richness and diversity of our own community.

“The Parramatta Festival program includes a music series at the Lennox Theatre featuring artists from Argentina, USA, Niger, the UK and Mali; and The Calling, an inter-faith minibus tour – complete with a sonic and visual ‘dreamscape’ – of places of worship in Western Sydney presented by Information and Cultural Exchange.

“Western Sydney audiences will also get to experience the spectacular magic supergroup, Band of Magicians, featuring four magicians from the USA and Australia, as well as free large-scale installations in Parramatta, including Roman Ondak’s Measuring the Universe, previously staged at New York's Museum of Modern Art, and Swap, which delighted thousands of visitors when it was presented as part of 13 Rooms at Sydney’s Pier 2/3 earlier this year.

“Many festival-goers will also be pleased to hear that the much loved Rubber Duck, from this year’s Sydney Festival will make a comeback in 2014, this time floating up the Parramatta River.”

Sydney Festival reaches an overall audience of over half a million people during its three-week run, through both its ticketed program as well as its free events.

The NSW Government is supporting Sydney Festival through Arts NSW and Destination NSW.

For more information on Sydney Festival 2014, visit www.sydneyfestival.org.au