Feature by Julie Hosking
The trees speak in captivating colour and librettos soar across pristine sands. Giants roam the city streets, stars light up under the Milky Way, and fairytales come to life.
Perth Festival is a cultural cavalcade that has been firing imaginations and lifting spirits for more than 70 years, sharing hundreds of spellbinding stories in myriad artforms over three glorious weeks.
Australia’s longest-running arts festival brings world-class performance, music, film, visual arts and literary voices to Perth (Boorloo). It also raises the voices of one of the world’s oldest living cultures in the most magnificent ways.
Held on Noongar Boodjar (land), where the warmth of the sun (Ngaangk) is felt long after it sets over the spectacular Indian Ocean, this is a festival of and for the people.
Bunggul Performance, Perth by Jacob Nash
Watch the world’s best
Such is the reputation of Perth’s homegrown festival, the world’s best and brightest have been coming to us for decades. From legends such as Icelandic queen Bjork and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett to lesser known but no less talented luminaries, the artists who grace Western Australia’s shores each year come from every corner of the globe to share their creative force. They leave us richer for the experience and with a piece of Perth in their hearts. Subscribe to Perth Festival to get the jump on big-ticket shows each year.
Dizze Rascal Concert, Perth
Feel the spirit of connection
The language of Boorloo takes majestic flight in an original opera sung entirely in Noongar. A world premiere is just one way the festival elevates art thousands of years in the making. Haunting glass works shed light on a dark past; artists reveal how ancient wisdom can help solve a modern-day crisis; and First Nations writers discuss the power of storytelling. Start your journey of discovery before the festival with an Aboriginal cultural tour along the Swan River (Derbarl Yerrigan), where Noongar guides bring the past to life.
Soak up the sounds
From hip hop in the Supreme Court Gardens, a short stroll from the stunning Swan River (Derbarl Yerrigan), to neo soul in The Rechabite, in the heart of bustling Northbridge, cool sounds ring out around Boorloo and beyond throughout the festival. Join First Nations sensations for the deadliest block party. Listen to opera on Scarborough Beach as waves lap the shore. Lose yourself in classical heaven at Perth Concert Hall. Just don’t forget to feed your belly as well as your soul at one of the many great bars and restaurants nearby each venue.
Scarborough Beach, Perth by Jess Wyld and Scott Weir
Make star gazing an artform
Where better to watch stars perform than under the stars? Perth’s sultry summer evenings are made for outdoor entertainment. Sink into a chair between the towering pines at the Somerville, an enchanting natural cinema where birdsong is the backdrop to a riveting roster of international films. Bring a picnic rug to the Supreme Court Gardens and chill out to a glittering line-up of local and international stars. Enjoy a late-afternoon dip at one of Perth’s 19 stunning beaches before settling in for an operatic adventure by the ocean. Just don’t forget to look up now and then at the show nature is putting on above.
The Sommerville, Perth
See art in surreal spaces
Artists have that magical ability to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, whether reinventing disused spaces or finding innovative ways to tell their stories. An old shopping precinct is given new life as an indoor wetland, plants that once hugged the Swan River shrouding escalators. An atrium window becomes a giant kaleidoscope, flooding the space with coloured shafts of light. A public swimming pool is turned into a theatre where everyone gets to splash about. A theatre morphs into a giant dining table where all the senses come alive. The surreal becomes real.
Find the free and fabulous
From morning meditations to guided astrological dances, street poetry to lively conversations about anything and everything, the festival program is always packed with things to see and do that don’t cost a cent. You can wander art exhibitions from Perth (Boorloo) to Fremantle (Walyalup), don op shop bargains for a prom party with a difference, and groove to world-class musicians under the stars. All for free.
Writers Weekend, Perth by Miles Noel
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get this party started.
Published February 2024.