David Sefton announces two shows for the 2014 Adelaide Festival

Artistic Director David Sefton has released a teaser of his 2014 Adelaide Festival Programme.

Roman Tragedies, a six-hour long multimedia concoction of three of William Shakespeare’s political plays (Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra) while avant-garde musician/composer John Zorn will make his Australian debut in Zorn in Oz a series of six concerts across four evenings which will not be repeated in this country.

The shows reinforce Sefton’s unabashed commitment to innovation and experimentation.

Toneelgroep Amsterdam’s Roman Tragedies has no fixed intermission, is performed in Dutch with English surtitles and invites its audience to move freely throughout the auditorium during the play – including providing sofas on stage for audience members to sit on. It will play from Friday 28 February to Sunday 2 March.

Sefton enthused “Roman Tragedies is one of the best theatre shows of the last decade; an immersive contemporary retelling of Shakespeare for the 24-hour news generation. It is epic, on a scale not seen at the festival since The Mahabharata in the quarry (from the 1988 Festival). People who see Roman Tragedies will remember it as an Adelaide Festival highlight for years to come.”
American John Zorn will perform with Australian chamber ensemble ELISION and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Over 40 of Zorn’s American collaborators will travel to Australia including Mike Patton (of Faith No More), percussionist Milford Graves, Bassist Bill Laswell (probably best known for his work with Jazz legend Herbie Hancock), the highly sought-after session guitarist Marc Ribot, drummer Joey Baron – a veteran of over 50 recordings with Zorn alone and Jazz keyboardist John Medeski.

Sefton was equally enthusiastic about presenting Zorn in Oz saying “I am thrilled and proud that Adelaide Festival will present John Zorn in Australia for the first, and most likely the only time ever. The epic scale of these concerts is a testament to the range and diversity of Zorn’s music. There really is no one else like him and this is Australia’s chance to finally see him live.”

The complete 2014 Adelaide Festival programme will be announced on Tuesday, 29 October 2013.

Tickets for Roman Tragedies go on sale from 7PM, Tuesday 3 September 2013 with prices ranging from $50 to $159. Tickets for Zorn in Oz range from $35 to $129 and go on sale the evening of Tuesday, 29 October 2013.

For further information go to http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au