Full Adelaide Festival Program Revealed

The full program for the Adelaide Festival has been revealed, with a huge line-up of music, theatre, dance and visual arts for punters to immerse themselves in.

We were already buoyed with the news in September that legendary composer and saxophonist John Zorn would be making his debut in Australia in the event, accompanied by some of his previous collaborators. Now we know that iconic indigenious collective Black Arm Band will also perform, with the likes of Archie Roach, Emma Donovan, Lou Bennetta and Tjupurru with special guest Paul Dempsey all set to appear on stage.

The salsa and soul fused sounds of '80s icons Kid Creole and The Coconuts will open the event with the very funky Charles Bradley in support, while cult UK outfit The Tiger Lillies will put on a visual/music spectacular with a retelling of the epic poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. And returning for 2014 will be the festival's electronic and experimental music program Unsound Adelaide, featuring a host of international and local acts such as Morton Subotnick, Nurse With Wound and The Haxan Cloak.

In a major coup for the event, international screen icon Isabella Rossellini will bring her one-woman show Green Porno to town, while True Blood actor Denis O'Hare will perform his production of An Illiad, highlighting an impressive thatre bill for 2014.

Festival director David Sefton, now in his second year at the event's forefront, said that the diverse program was a reflection of the audience they were catering to.

“What was very clear last year was that this audience is very used to seeing the new, to experiencing things that are challenging and that broadens their horizons. This is a festival with a history of doing big, ambitious work, so I felt with 2014 I could definitely make it bigger than 2013.”

Sefton said depending on festival-goer's tastes, the drawcards will differ, although Zorn and Rossellini would appeal to the masses. Of the latter's show, which sees the actress discuss the mating habits of insects, Sefton added, “all I know at the moment is its Isabella Rossellini talking about the sex lives of insects! But that's all I need to know really. It's going to be unmissable.”

The Adelaide Festival will take place at numerous venues around the city from Friday 28 February until Sunday 16 March. For more details on the program and tickets, head to the event's website.

Now, here are our picks for what you should check out if you're planning on heading along to the festival:

Green Porno

Italian screen icon, Isabella Rossellini tells us about horny bugs. Or rather explores the sexual behaviour different species. “Penises different penis all trying to get as close as possible to my eggs”

15 and 16 Mar, Her Majesty's Theatre   

Kid Creole and the Coconuts/Charles Bradley

Opening night is bound to be one hell of a party with these two legendary acts on the bill. Kid Creole and the Coconuts are the headliner for this particular show and it will be impossible not to dance to their latin-flavoured pop that made them a fan favourite in the '80s and mainstays on the tour circuit since. Bradley will also entertain the masses with his old-school soul sounds. Get your groovin' boots on for this set.

28 Feb, Elder Park

John Waters: This Filthy World Vol.2

John f***ing Waters is coming. Enough said. This is the second instalment to his one man man-show/ doco This Filthy World. In it Waters plays himself. The performance is followed by a Q and A.

6 Mar, Elder Hall, Uni Of Adelaide

An Iliad

This piece stars actor Dennis O' Hare (True Blood, American Horror Story and Milk) in a one-man adaptation of this epic poem. The piece was co-adapted by Lisa Peterson and O'Hare. Peterson also the director says “we call it An Iliad because for us it's not The Iliad, it's only one view”

4 to 8 Mar, Dunstan Playhouse   

John Zorn

It's been a patient wait for Australian fans of the iconic composers to see him perform live in Australia and we're fairly certain he'll have won over many more appreciative punters after his festival appearances are all said and done. Considering he's bringing past collaborators like Mike Patton, Marc Ribot, John Medeski and Milford Graves along for these performances, you can expect this to be something very special.

11 to 14 Mar, Adelaide Festival Centre

Roman Tragedies

Even though this one was already announced in Sept, it is still a festival highlight. This is first time this six hour piece will be staged in Australia. Directed by Ivo Van Hove, audience are encouraged to swap seats and even grab a snack on-stage at the bar, whilst moving among the actors. If you have never been to epic theatre, get involved!

28 Feb to 2 Mar, Festival Theatre

Needles And Opium

This piece is written and directed by Robert Lepage, it was first performed in Oct 1991. It focuses on poet Jean Cocteau, musician Miles Davis and a character call Robert (potentially Lepage's alter ego). It also goes for a neat 1hr, 45 mins as opposed to the 9 hours of Lipsynch Lepage's more recent work in Australia last year.

13 to 16 Mar, Dunstan Playhouse   

Adelaide Writers Week

The line- up of writers coming to this year's festival, directed by Laura Lroetsh feature, cartoonist Alison Bechdel (Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic), Jung Chang (Wild Swans, Mao), Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap) and Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love).

1 to 6 Mar, Pioneer Women's Memorial (free event)