Broad Accents
Sydney's third multicultural theatre festival
November 4-27
Seymour Centre and Fairfield Arts Centre
The work of more than 15 theatre groups, from as many homelands and all resident in Australia, will be showcased in the third annual festival of multicultural theatre in Sydney from November 4.
The work to be featured includes movement-based, group-devised pieces, bilingual and multilingual genres, new interpretations of international texts and play readings by new Australian writers.
According to pre-publicity for the festival, in Blue moon, to be performed by the Hellenic Theatre Inc, "naturalism evolves into slapstick in this Australian premiere by Greek playwright Miltos Moutafidis, written especially for the festival. The break-up of a culturally mixed relationship has 'mixed' effects on the people involved." The piece will be performed in Greek and English.
Karnabal, from the Sydney-based troupe Dulaang Bayan, "takes its audience on a journey back to the roots of Filipino culture from pre-Spanish times to the present day. A vibrant, musical exploration of art as an instrument of colonisation as well as a force for revolution." Performed in Spanish, Tagalog and English.
The man who became a dog, from the Kappucino Company, is "an absurdist tale tinged with pathos. A man looking for work in this age of recession finds employment as a 'guard dog'. A story of old dreams in today's world adapted from a South American play." Performed in English.
Regardless of time, from Intransitheatre, to be performed in English, Spanish and Italian, is "a dynamic fusion of movement, music and theatrical imagery from the cultural cross-artform laboratory" of this innovative company. According to the festival notes, "comedy ploughs headlong into tragedy and the commonplace becomes bizarre in a place regardless of time".
Other offerings include performances by Kooris in Theatre, Arabic group, Taqa Theatre, and the Indonesian/Chinese Balai Ensemble.
The month-long festival opens at the Seymour Centre on November 4, where it runs for two weeks, and then moves for its final fortnight to the Fairfield Arts Centre in Western Sydney. Tickets are $14 and $7, and special concessions will be available. For bookings and inquiries contact the Multicultural Theatre Alliance on (02) 310 3372.