Perth Festival in Fremantle

Expect world-class theatre, dance, contemporary and classical music, literature, film and visual arts events across multiple Freo venues.

Programming an international arts festival amid a global pandemic is not an easy challenge. And precisely not what Perth Festival Artistic Director Iain Grandage had planned when curating this year's program. Yet the silver lining with border restrictions has been the focus on local talent, with Western Australian artists featuring heavily to share their stories and creative vision at several historic Fremantle venues.

A Fremantle-adjacent dweller himself, Grandage loves all that the port city offers. "It has a welcoming spirit. It acknowledges the multiplicities of histories that have forged it - from old Noongar stories, through the waves of Italian and Greek migrants - that have given it its beating heart, and onwards through waves of more recent arrivals," he enthuses.

"Having grown up here, I have a long history with many local artists and companies. To be able to feature them as part of the festival has been a great privilege," Grandage adds.

For Perth Festival 2022, Grandage has framed his rich program around the Noongar word 'Wardan' - the ocean. A collective of stories about the coast, themes of migration, Noongar history and connection, and performances by the sea are at the heart of this year's festival program.

"In a Festival-themed around the ocean, it seemed logical, nay, necessary, to feature the Port of Fremantle," Grandage explains, on why Fremantle has become a Perth Festival hub this year. "Not only does Fremantle hold iconic venues like the Fremantle Arts Centre and the B Shed, but it is also a city that celebrates a diverse and connected community – just as we aim to at the Perth Festival," he says.

We've rounded up eight highlights of Perth Festival 2022:

MUSIC

B Shed is hosting a series of live gigs from some of our best local acts. Fierce and feminist Stella Donnelly will be bringing her sharp wit and honesty via her lyrics on 18 February. The following eve, in a Perth Festival and RTRFM collaboration, WA Mixtape, merges past and present Western Australian musicianship as two performers each deliver their take on a classic WA album, with Dan Howls and his band putting their spin on Weird Love by The Scientists and Noah Dillon tackling The Triffids' Born Sandy Devotional.

Alter Boy delivers their dreamy pop tunes all performed in Auslan in a live show that challenges traditional perceptions of pop music (on 26 February). Meanwhile, First Nations language and song will be in the spotlight at Warranma! Sign in Language during a family-friendly afternoon show on 27 February.

Over at South Mole, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and vocalist CLAUDIO will interpret the unique moods of seven Freo sunsets over seven consecutive nights from 14 to 20 February for Sounds of Sunset which promises to be unique. And psych-rock wizards Pond will be showcasing their new album on the South Lawn at Fremantle Arts Centre on 11 February.

VISUAL ARTS

Undertow at Fremantle Arts Centre is a collection of saltwater stories, exploring our connection with the oceans and seas, and contemplating imagined futures, presented through different mediums that runs from 5 February through to 25 April.

LITERATURE

Writers Weekend will be curated by Gillian O'Shaughnessy from 26-27 February, also at Fremantle Arts Centre. Featuring a series of interviews and panel discussions with lit luminaries including Bri Lee, Helen Garner and Judith Lucy finishing with Western Australian literary legend Tim Winton reflecting on the theme of Wardan, a splendid choice given his lifelong love affair with the Western Australian coast that is a staple of his novels.

On 27 February Writers Weekend Family Day featured Science guru Dr Karl Kruszelnicki amongst the children's authors with free crafts and live storytelling for little (and big) kids during the day.

There are undoubtedly many reasons to enjoy Fremantle during this year's Perth Festival. Are you ready to dive in?

Photo credit: Main image: Writers Weekend - Miles Noel / Second image: Dan Howls - Adrian Thomson