Some events can please audiences anywhere. Complicite’s The Encounter, an immersive aural work which brings the Amazon Rainforest into the theatre will play to Sydney Festival, Perth International Arts Festival and Adelaide Festival in early 2017.
But not all productions have such broad appeal. A work which is met with plaudits and bouquets in one festival may fall flat in another. Despite superficial similarities, the programs of Australia’s major international arts festivals are as diverse as the cities which host them. The challenge for festival directors, then, is to identify the tastes and personality of their city and program accordingly.
