Rising Festival
Worried you’ll nod off during this eight-hour show? You won’t be alone
Just as in real life, REST happens between 9pm and 5am. Audiences can even wear their PJs.
- by John Bailey
Latest
The star of this shocking play about rape wishes you hadn’t been warned
Carolina Bianchi will be drugged and probed while on stage in her Rising performance. But that’s not what she’s annoyed about.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
Forget RuPaul’s Drag Race. Local drag is here to slay
Eclipse, a Rising Festival drag performance, will have you counting down to the apocalypse while reconsidering the meaning of drag itself.
- by Nell Geraets
An ‘alien vibe’ and no fear of death: this singer is full of surprises
Kazu Makino thought her days with Blonde Redhead were behind her. But Covid changed all that.
- by Michael Dwyer
Banned by police, this controversial rap group is heading to Melbourne
Western Sydney rap group OneFour are set to perform their first headline show in Melbourne as part of the RISING festival in June.
- by Thomas Mitchell
Analysis
What’s on
It’s supposed to be Melbourne’s premier cultural festival. But does it work?
Rising is “a festival that you do, in a city that does it best: music, food, art and culture under moonlight”. That’s not a purpose, it’s a hopelessly vague marketing slogan.
- by Cameron Woodhead
What would you do if you found the last thylacine? First, build a boat ...
This wrap of Rising festival shows includes Hide the Dog, Identity, The Dan Daw Show, Buŋgul, THIS, Ethel Cain, Thundercat, Weyes Blood, Tanz, and Tracker.
- by Cameron Woodhead, Andrew Fuhrmann, Mahmood Fazal, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen and Rebecca Harkins-Cross
How a funeral and a song called Squid led to a breakthrough for this local band
RVG’s third album is their finest – and riskiest – yet. ‘The best-case scenario is we make a great record, the worst case is we have a very expensive holiday.’
- by Mikey Cahill
Kink was the vehicle that let me get to grips with my body: Dan Daw
Disabled performer Dan Daw, who performs at RISING Festival this month, says the two places he feels truly free are in the bedroom and on stage as a dancer.
- by Stephanie Bunbury
How twin artists broke reality to create surreal new world
In the heart of the city, brothers Efrain and Pablo Del Hierro have created a vibrant, art-filled world to bring about “a colourful stain on grey reality”.
- by Nadia Bailey
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Arts
Rising Festival 2023
Rising Festival brings together theatre, dance, music, art, and everything in between. Here’s a peek into the program.