This year, NIDA, the National Institutue of Dramatic Arts will bring the Festival of Emerging Artists features seven short productions experienced across three different venues from 7-10 December.
So, if ever you wanted to see what the world of drama can really do, this is the opportunity.
Established in 2019, the annual festival brings together the many talents nurtured at NIDA across all disciplines, with a particular focus on the next generation of Australia’s leading directors and designers. In the tradition of NIDA alumni immediately finding employment in the entertainment industry, these are the new creative artists to watch in 2023 and beyond.
Here are some top shows to add to your diary:
Leela
Written by Sudip Sauden and Grace Malouf
Directed by Sudip Sauden
Dramaturg by Jiva Lamsal (guest artist)
Set and costume design by Lochie Odgers
This darkly funny Australian-Nepalese work revolves around Laxmi, an elderly Nepalese woman, and her son, Arjun, as they struggle with the most consequential decision of their lives, a decision with tragic consequences.
How to win a Plebiscite (and Tennis)
Written by Lachlan Parry
Directed by Ryan Whitworth
Set and costume design by Hailley Hunt
How to Win a Plebiscite (and Tennis) is a queer comedy that wrestles with the question – can a long-term relationship withstand the scrutiny and trauma experienced when a country is asked to vote on the validity of their love? This is a story of community, hope and love set during the 2017 Australian Equal Marriage Plebiscite.
SOL.
Directed by Emma Whitehead
Dramaturg Simon Thomson (guest artist)
Set and costume design by Benedict Janeczko-Taylor
SOL. is a devised and interdisciplinary performance piece that includes the audience as participants. Taking inspiration from ongoing space exploration juxtaposed with decline on Earth, the show takes the audience on a guided journey, exploring the cyclical human condition of creation and destruction through ritual, soundscape, and live scenography.
Feature image, NIDAs production of Shakespeare’s Tempest