By James Murphy
In the half a century since it was opened by the late-great Gough Whitlam and Don Dunstan, the Adelaide Festival Centre has never veered away from its name: it is the centre for festivals in Adelaide, in Mad March, and all year round. In the 50th Anniversary Concert, each of the Centre’s annual or bi-annual festivals- Cabaret, Guitar, Our Mob, OzAsia and DreamBIG festivals were showcased. It was a night that truly highlighted that while it is sometimes easy to take consistent, internationally renowned and diverse artistic programming for granted, it wasn’t always the norm; a new norm was forged and it now flows through the fabric of our city like the Torrens.
Following introductory speeches from AFC CEO and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier, Centre Foundation Board Chair Miranda Starke and Premier Peter Malinauskas, a concert of familiar classics and locally commissioned original compositions began with composer Mark Simeon Ferguson’s ‘Dunstan’s Vision’, a rock instrumental that was accompanied by an animated visual presentation showcasing the Centre’s iconic design. Renowned jazz and cabaret singer Libby O’Donovan, wearing a sky scraping blonde wig launched into the Beatles’ ‘They Say It’s Your Birthday’, backed by a chorus of Dunstanettes- guys and girls dressed in Don’s in/famous pink shorts.
With her trademark wit and panache, Libby MC’d a variety hour featuring artists who were born here, and ones that were drawn here. Michael Griffiths, who delivered a Cole Porter parody of ‘You’re the Top’ and a Peter Allen medley, spoke of how a visit to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival inspired him to return to his hometown; Cuban trumpeter and composer Lazaro Numa performed as part of Adelaide Festival’s WOMADelaide and lives here now, as does classical guitar virtuoso and Guitar Festival director Slava Grigoryan and his cellist wife, Sharon. OzAsia Festival favourites, Asian-fusion six-piece Hyoshi in Counterpoint, meanwhile, are a meeting of locals and those who have come from away, while for Ngarrindjeri/Gunditjmara woman, Katie Aspel, the Centre is built on land that always was and always will be Aboriginal land. Bathing in this melting pot that once was the home to the Adelaide Baths was the South Australian Public Primary Schools Choir.
Hyoshi in Counterpoint’s cover of Pharrell William’s ‘Happy’ and Katie Aspel’s tribute to Uncle Archie Roach and Aunty Ruby Hunter on Archie’s ‘Paradise’ were emotional highpoints, along with Griffith’s Allen medley, which was played while the Centre’s unsung back-of-house and front-office heroes were projected on three large screens. You always save the best for last, though: inaugural Centre manager, the Oxford and Cambridge-educated arts titan, Anthony Steel OAM, held court while displaying the intellect and refinement that ensured this nation-leading enterprise became an beloved institution, not a white elephant.
It’s impossible now to imagine an Adelaide without a Festival Centre; that’s a reality well worth celebrating.
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