Darlo Reopens Its Doors With Fling Festival
On Thursday 28 October, Darlinghurst Theatre Company will fling open its doors and invite audiences back to its home at the Eternity Playhouse. Artistic Director Amylia Harris has assembled a jam-packed lineup for what she is calling a Fling Festival. “We’re all desperate to break up with lockdown and enjoy some non-committal spring fun,” she says. “Our community needs to find joy, but on its own terms. Everyone’s been told what to do for so long and now it’s time to curate our own post-lockdown experience. You be you!”
Harris is reactivating the theatre space and transforming the Eternity Playhouse into a scalable cultural hub that combines live entertainment with indoor and outdoor dining in an immersive experience. “Right now, our kitchen is putting the finishing touches to our new Darlo Bites menu,” she says. “We’ll be serving mouth-watering cheese and charcuterie boards for both indoor and alfresco dining under the umbrellas along our theatre’s beautiful street frontage.” A delicious range of bespoke cocktails has also been prepared, including the aptly named Spring Fling.
Thirsty Thursdays will bring a New York piano bar vibe to the heart of Darlo. Curated by Andrew Bukenya (pictured above), weekly guests will be handpicked musical theatre and cabaret talent, adding razzle dazzle to these open mic nights. Margi de Ferranti opens the season on 28 October with Bev Kennedy on piano.
Andrew Bukenya will also launch Looking Up: Classical from a New Perspective – an up-close and intimate encounter with classical music in a unique and non-traditional setting. Tea and cakes will be served as music lovers kick back on bean bags and enjoy a soundscape conjured up by classical musicians. Looking Up premieres on 17 November with a second session on Wednesday 1 December.
On Saturday 30 October, Queer Table Reads will see Sydney's favourite LGBTQIA+ performers bring their all-time favourite cult cinema classics to the stage with a queer twist. This Halloween they’re presenting the Reese Witherspoon classic – Legally Blonde. This event will be produced and hosted by Sydney comedian Jenna Suffern, who promises, “it will give the queer community and its allies a reason to just have a laugh in this weird, chaotic world we live in.”
Image: Queer Table Reads. Photographer: Clare Hawley.
Grounded Sydneysiders can look forward to an alternative kind of ‘inflight’ entertainment when Sky Queenz transform the theatre’s cabaret space into a first-class aircraft cabin on 20 and 27 November. Complete with upgrades (and downgrades), this drag extravaganza is presented by Leave It to Diva – the team behind the popular Priscilla Spectacular and Come Fly with Me.
The Fling Festival program also includes two spoken word poetry events titled Revolution Renegade, with MADAM3EMPRESS and Bangarra artist and storyteller Daniel Mateo scheduled to feature during the festival. "We speak the unspeakable,” says founding performance artist and activist, Mel Ree, “we connect to each other so profoundly, suddenly life seems possible again. Revolution is the vibe / Renegade is the go.” Revolution Renegade will be held on 6 November and returns to close the festival on 11 December.
This will be Artistic Director Amylia Harris’s sixth festival in three years. “Our annual Comedy Kiki during Mardi Gras proved that we had succeeded in building trust with our artists and audience,” she says. “That trust now allows us to deliver an experience that can both challenge and delight.”
Image: SKYQUEENZ
Her programming has enabled Darlinghurst Theatre Company to successfully weather the impact of COVID-19 and be one of the first theatres anywhere in the world to reopen after the first lockdown. Beginning with Red Carpet Cabaret in June last year, Harris went on to program the Bloom Festival, which was extended by popular demand, as well as a body positive burlesque festival titled Big Thick Energy.
“A year has passed since we opened Bloom,” Harris says, “and it was great while it lasted. However, as soon as the second lockdown began, I knew we’d need to replenish all that positive energy when we finally re-emerged. By the time this festival is over, we’ll be ready for the new year ahead – no more rebounds; no more false starts. Lockdown really was like a bad relationship and it left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Yes, we’re opening back up, but we’re also taking time to cleanse the palate. That’s what having a Fling is all about!”
For further details about the Fling Festival and to book, visit www.darlinghursttheatre.com/flingfestival