A smorgasbord of creative events and performances are set to tour Victoria’s regional cities and towns in 2020, including hip-hop, ballet, theatre, orchestras and children’s shows. Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley has announced the latest round of the Andrews Labor Government’s Touring Victoria program, with nearly $600,000 helping nine grant recipients take 160 creative activities to 63 destinations across Victoria.
“We’re excited to support our wealth of creative talent in hitting the road and connecting with audiences right around Victoria.” Minister Foley commented “These tours add to the fantastic creative and cultural offerings in regional Victoria and give communities – large and small – access to a diverse array of award-winning shows and exciting productions.”
First Nations Elder and Victoria’s 2020 Australian of the Year Archie Roach will take his life story and music on the road with Tell Me Why, while folk singer and pop punk poet Alana Wilkinson will perform at the 2020 Festival of Small Halls travelling to 14 small towns including Loch, Port Albert, Merton and Stanley.
Theatre lovers will enjoy shows like Red Stitch’s American Song by Joanna Murray-Smith and Lamb, a piece on dementia by Jane Bodie with music by Mark Seymour; A Migrant’s Son, a cabaret work by Michaela Burger; and The Listies’ award-winning kids’ comedy Rolling on the Floor Laughing so Hard.
Orchestra Victoria’s Bendigo Festival 2020 will serenade audiences in Central Victoria with various concerts for adults and children, a cabaret and initiatives to improve accessibility to concerts.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Regional Touring Program will travel to 11 destinations, including Mildura, Warragul, Ballarat and Wangaratta, with performances of Swan Lake and Saint-Saens and Handel’s Messiah, a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, and family concert Indigenous Lullabies.
Other supported tours include:
• The 2020 Café Culture Series, featuring performers like western–swing band The Canyon Callers and Argentinian singer and dancer Juan Vernon with La Bussa Tango
• Screenings of Australian hip hop documentary Burn Gently, accompanied by live interviews and panel discussions
• Jessie Lloyd’s Mission Songs Project, an initiative reviving First Nations songs about life on the ‘mish’
• DanceBourne Arts’ Pointe, Line and Surface will bring the history of ballet to Drysdale and Wonthaggi.