Be swept along by currents of inspiration and waves of delight when Perth Festival 2022 celebrates the theme of Wardan (Ocean) this summer.
From dockside escapades in Fremantle and dancing on the sand at City Beach, to oceanic orchestral concerts and surfing the swell of contemporary music, to heart-pumping theatre and a magical lighthouse set to captivate the young-at-heart, there is an open invitation to dive into the extensive 2022 Festival program.
After the success of the all-Western Australian program themed around Bilya (River) 2021, we venture further in 2022 with world-premieres, new local commissions and works coming to Perth for the first time.
The Festival opens on 11-12 February with the anarchic joyride of Escape. This massive, free multi-site family adventure is inspired by the legendary Catalpa convict escape and is created by the team behind the blockbuster 2017 and 2019 opening event Boorna Waanginy.
Escape celebrates the diverse stories, voyages, cultures and experiences of life on the west coast.
Over two unforgettable nights Fremantle's wharves, warehouses, beachfront and streets will be transformed into a vast arena of stunning light installations, music, dance, mass community events, feasts and a madcap Catalpa re-enactment – by a troupe of outlandish cyclists.
To close the Festival on the March long weekend, Perry Lakes will light up with the immersive, multisensory futurism of Noongar Wonderland.
This dynamic expression of Noongar culture unfolds in circles of technicolour lighting, dance and song between the two lakes and is co-created by many of the artists behind recent Festival hits Hecate and Fist of Fury Noongar Daa.
From the beginning to the end of the three-week Festival, artists will summon up new worlds and new moods across music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film and writing events.
