Adelaide Festival 2021 Opens

The 2021 Adelaide Festival officially opened on today February 26, having already hit its box office target! With 70 events, including 10 world premieres, 14 Australian premieres and 18 events exclusive to Adelaide over 17 days, 2021 marks the 61st Adelaide Festival and the fifth under Artistic Directors Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy.

Joint Artistic Directors Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy (pictured) said: “This has easily been our most challenging Festival to plan - and we are not alone in learning how to adapt to last minute changes. But the Festival is here! COVID-safe and just as inspirational, nourishing and energetic as its previous years 60 years. We’re so thrilled to welcome the Adelaide community and audiences from around Australia to celebrate the amazing artists of the 61st Adelaide Festival over the next seventeen days.”

Opening Weekend Key Events
Friday 26 February is opening night for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. The opera by Benjamin Britten and directed by Neil Armfield, plays 4 shows across the opening week.

FREE Opening Event Concert with Jessica Mauboy on Saturday 27 February, starts at 8pm at Adelaide Oval.

New York based artists Robin Frohardt brings The Plastic Bag Store to Rundle Place, an installation where visual art and performance intersect. The FREE installation runs until the end of the festival. 

The Summerhouse, a new home and hub for Adelaide Festival will feature 40 free and ticketed events involving more than 130 artists and special guests, transforming its look and feel from early morning breakfast sanctuary, a go-to meeting place before a show, to live music hotspot.

Breakfast with Papers kicks off on Saturday 27 February with Tom Wright and a panel of informed guests at 8am daily. 

The Australian premiere of A German Life, staring Australian stage and screen legend Robyn Nevin in a demanding ninety-minute solo performance, has already opened at Dunstan Playhouse and will run until the end of the Adelaide Festival. 

South Australian performers take to the stage over opening weekend, with three world premieres in the Adelaide Festival. Gravity & Other Myths returns home with The Pulse, where audience, acrobat and choir fuse together at Her Majesty’s Theatre for 6 performances from Thursday 25 February.

Slingsby and State Theatre Company South Australia come together in a major new co-production at the Adelaide Showgrounds. The Boy Who Talked to Dogs is a true story of a homeless teenager adopted by a pack of stray dogs.

Restless Dance Theatre, under the direction of Michelle Ryan  take over a bowling alley in Norwood from Friday 26 February. Guttered is an intelligent and witty performance about denial of the dignity of risk and well-intentioned ‘help’ that smothers potential growth. 

FANGIRLS opens on Saturday 27 February at the Ridley Centre at the Adelaide Showgrounds.

Race Cards, the interactive installation premiering in Australia exclusively at the 2021 Adelaide Festival opens on Friday 26 February in the Institute Building, State Library of South Australia. This antidote to subliminally race-based attitudes invites you into a global conversation, five years in the making.                  

adelaidefestival.com.au or BASS 131 246

The Adelaide Festival, including Adelaide Writers’ Week, will be delivered under COVID plans following strict guidelines set by the SA Health. Any necessary updates will be provided via the website, social media, and/or direct communication with registered attendees and ticket buyers.

Due to the uncertainties of COVID-19, Adelaide Festival has introduced updates to the ticketing policy giving patrons more flexibility in the case of illness or border closure. Visit adelaidefestival.com.au/booking for more information