About

Welcome to the 2008 Perth Festival

Once again it is summer, and time to welcome artists from around the world to Perth. Despite the distance travelled by many of our visitors, their arrival only serves to remind us of our interconnectedness. Hearing Shakespeare in another tongue, witnessing stories from a war that affects all of us, and seeing dance inspired by early American life is a reminder of how much we have in common.

This is not to deny the unique and poetic sense of place that Western Australian artists bring to our Festival. Two landmark theatre productions are heartscape portraits of people and their land, while architects, dancers and visual artists explore the environment we create, the identities we adopt and the emotional worlds that grow from this.

Our Festival covers an astonishing breadth of work. From the performing arts to music, literature, visual arts, film and a celebration of musical instrument makers, there are many doors into this Festival and I invite you to find the wonderful treasures that lie behind them.

Festival time is a time to celebrate our city, our community and ultimately a reminder that the answer to the question ‘where do we belong?’ is simply ‘together’.

Heartfelt thanks are due to the artists, colleagues, supporters and audiences who have made this possible through their passionate commitment to this Festival and each other.

Shelagh Magadza
Artistic Director