The 2023 programme for RISING in Melbourne will invite audiences to reflect, reckon, rave and revel in Melbourne’s night time culture.
Art, culture, food and music under moonlight is what attendees can expect. An expansive programme of 185 events featuring more than 400 artists. There will be 12 nights of powerful theatre, exhilarating dance, music, large-scale installation, public performances, free and low-cost experiences, and outdoor walks of mass participation.
“RISING is a mass celebration of Melbourne's unique culture in the heart of the city.” RISING Co-Artistic Directors Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek say. “The 2023 programme is a rallying call to get involved, experience the new and be a part of a festival that couldn’t happen anywhere else.”
The abandoned upper level of Flinders Street Station will become home to Shadow Spirit, a new dimension of First Nations art, and the largest commissioned exhibition of contemporary First Peoples art in Victoria’s history. Shadow Spirit sits at RISING’s spiritual and physical centre.
10,000 Kazoos is exactly what its title suggests. Led by artist and composer Ciaran Frame, it puts 10,000 kazoos in the hands of 10,000 people for the biggest musical project Melbourne has ever seen.
Night Trade is the festival’s vibrant hub featuring pop-up performances and festival feasts taking over the grounds of St Paul’s Cathedral. Energetic music, shape-shifting art, spontaneous performances, drag karaoke, food. . .
There’s something for everyone throughout all of RISING – from a bioluminescent light show to a celestial ice-skating experience.
10,000 Kazoos - Image © Michael Pham
Over at Arts Centre Melbourne, ‘Hide The Dog’ written by Nathan Maynard is a swashbuckling First Nations comedy for all ages, sailing the high seas to hide a Thylacine and strengthen the bonds between trans-Tasman spirit stories.
Continuing in theatre is ‘Tracker’ from Australian Dance Theatre, ‘THE HUM’ with a score from composer and soprano Deborah Cheetham AO, choreographer Alice Topp’s ‘Paragon’, and choreographer Florentina Holzinger’s ‘TANZ’.
‘The Dan Daw Show’ at Arts House delves into the often-misunderstood core of care and communication inherent to BDSM culture. It explores intimacy, resilience, letting go and reclaiming yourself. The Guardian listed it among their top five dance shows of 2022.
Cabaret legend Robyn Archer AO distills her wealth of music knowledge into a personal, political, provocative celebration of Australian music in ‘Robyn Archer: An Australian Songbook’. Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will support ‘Bungul’, the inspiration behind Dr. G Yunupinu’s seminal album ‘Djarimirri (Child Of The Rainbow)’.
In the music realm, audiences can expect the likes of Thundercats, Weyes Blood, Lost Animal, Uncle Kutcha Edwards, Bart Willoughby, Mo’Ju, Alice Skye, Cornelius, RVG, Batrider, Ethel Cain, Birds, Fred Leone, Paul Kelly, Big Yawn and more.
Check out the full RISING programme.
RISING takes place in Melbourne from 7-18 June.
