‘Audiences will take fewer risks’: Adelaide arts leaders brace for a challenging 2025
In this two-part story, InReview talks to South Australia’s major production companies to discover their hopes and concerns for the coming year in culture.
Brett Sheehy, artistic director, Adelaide Festival
What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenges for 2025?
Confronting the culture wars. What has happened politically in the United States is not an isolated drift from the left (the arts’ more natural home) to the right – it’s ubiquitous around the world, and there’s a good chance Australia will follow suit next year. This could easily threaten our cultural landscape.
Do we respond by hunkering down and looking ever more inward, or do we open ourselves up to reach more people and enrich their lives also? Do we expand our embracing of diversity to include diversity of politics, culture, class and religion, or do we continue to embrace ‘selective’ diversity? This will be very hard for us, but if we don’t try to understand and artistically speak to more of our fellow humans instead of scorning them, our relevance and our audiences will shrink.
The ongoing squeeze on discretionary spending will affect all arts organisations. Audiences will take fewer risks with their valued dollars, seeking art which they are more confident will deliver a known outcome to them, tempting us to develop and present only the most monetisable work. And that road to artistic populism can be deadly. Conquering the balancing act between our artistic integrity and fiscal safety will be a great challenge.
What are you most excited about for 2025?
Since announcing the Glyndebourne Opera production of Flight in 2005 (for the 2006 Adelaide Festival), my passion for great contemporary opera has sharpened even more. To be presenting in 2025 the world’s most important new opera, Innocence, in an international production of both theatrical and operatic brilliance is, for me, a thrilling 20-year circle.
Other Festival highlights will be Big Names No Blankets, a musical of the global success story of one of my favourite bands, music icons Warumpi Band; the definitive Irish production of a Samuel Beckett masterpiece with Krapp’s Last Tape, and Club Amour a Pina Bausch dance classic having its Australian premiere; and… how long have you got? There are another 61 Festival events I could swoon over here!
On the personal front, my partner and I will plant ourselves in Italy for a while later next year on what’s a near-annual pilgrimage for us; I can’t wait to celebrate my mother’s 94th birthday in her own home as she still thrives; I’m hoping the professional gods will throw some more dream gifts my way; and, who knows, my partner and I might get married after 30 years together. That could be cool.
Innocence will be a highlight of this year’s Adelaide Festival. Photo: Tristram Kenton / Supplied
Heather Croall, director and CEO, Adelaide Fringe
What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenge for 2025?
A major challenge for Adelaide Fringe in 2025 will be managing the escalating costs faced by both artists and audiences amidst a widespread cost of living crisis. With inflation and supply chain issues sharply increasing the cost of essentials – such as venue hire, set materials, marketing, crewing, props, and costumes – it’s become more challenging than ever for artists, especially independent and emerging talents, to self-produce their work. Higher ticket prices are not a sustainable solution to offset these rising costs, as the current economic pressures make ticket affordability crucial for audiences as well.
Thanks to support from sponsors, donors, and partners, we’re able to offer a range of ticket discount initiatives, including the Lumo Flash Sale, Bank SA cardholder discount, Nunn Dimos Support Act, midweek treats, and Fringe Member pricing.
As an open-access festival, we are committed to working closely with artists, venues, and sponsors to sustain Adelaide Fringe as a supportive platform for artists, an affordable festival for audiences, and one of the world’s most inclusive arts festivals. By reducing financial barriers, we strive to ensure that creativity and community continue to flourish for everyone at the Fringe. These are our goals, and we continue to work toward them despite the very high pressures coming from the escalating presentation costs and the rising cost of living everyone is facing.
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What are you most excited about for 2025?
It’s hard to pick because we really are gearing up for an incredible 2025 Adelaide Fringe season across the board! The variety and accessibility of shows across the regions and suburbs really emphasises how inclusive and far-reaching the festival has become. It’s not just in one area – Fringe offers arts for everyone, everywhere!
The outdoor precincts like Fools Paradise, Gluttony, The Garden and Infamous are back and they are perfect spots to soak up the Fringe atmosphere, and it’s fantastic to see strong indie programs thriving in venues like the Warehouse Theatre, Goodwood Studios, Holden Street and the Courtyard of Curiosities in the Migration Museum.
The immersive and interactive genres are definitely a highlight. It’s amazing how these shows continue to push artistic boundaries – the Sleeps Hill Tunnel experience is back by popular demand and the Dome at the Dom Polski is sure to delight audiences once again with immersive 360 dome shows in outer space and under the sea.
The Ladyboys of Bangkok joining the line-up for the first time is an exciting addition after their decades-long success in Edinburgh. First Nations artists like Electric Fields, Dane Simpson and Nancy Bates will undoubtedly bring powerful and memorable performances. And we are looking forward to celebrating 25 years of Adelaide Comedy (Rhino Room) at Fringe – a milestone worth cheering for.
Heather Croall, front, at the Adelaide Fringe 2022 program launch. Photo: Jack Fenby / Supplied
Stephen Nicolazzo, artistic director, Brink Productions
What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenge for 2025?
Our biggest challenge will always be financial, but with the extraordinary artists and projects we have in development in 2025, I see this as a motivator to keep going more than anything.
As difficult as it is to fund and sustain art making, I believe that the quality and passion behind our output will rise to the challenge, and we will find a way to bring great theatre to audiences by hook or by crook. Lateral partnerships, national and local engagement, and thinking creatively about money is the only path to overcoming financial difficulty. That’s how I see our 2025 – positively tackling challenges head on with ambition and rigour.
What are you most excited about for 2025?
Everything!! 2025 is the first year my projects for Brink will be meeting Adelaide audiences, so I am just so pumped to share.
The 14-venue national tour of my beloved production of Looking for Alibrandi will be a major highlight, as will our creative partnership with First Nations company A Daylight Connection, Malthouse Theatre and ASIATOPA on the vaudevillian Aboriginal musical A Nighttime Travesty. Further development of our project with Christos Tsiolkas and Dan Giovannoni – a post-punk theatrical celebration of 1980s music in Australia, and the adaptation of Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli’s AIDS memoir Someone You Know, written with the inimitable South Australian queer playwright Anthony Nocera.
Our continued relationship with our First Nations Fellows Sonya Rankine and Jannali Jones, bringing their new theatrical works into script development with First Nations actors and creatives will also be an extraordinary part of Brink’s 2025. Collaborating with Carla Lippis and her band Mondo Psycho on a theatrical rock concert is also something I cannot wait to keep exploring in 2025!
It’s choc-a-block but I feel so privileged to get to make work with human beings whose stories need to be told. It’s a truly personal and heart-warming year ahead. Making. Dreaming. Playing. With artists who move and thrill me like no other.
Looking for Alibrandi. Photo: Jeff Busby / Supplied
Nick Hays, executive director, Australian Dance Theatre
What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenge for 2025?
2025 is Australian Dance Theatre’s 60th birthday. Started in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM, Australian Dance Theatre has been creating rebellious and game-changing dance here on Kaurna Yerta for six decades – it’s a remarkable achievement for any arts company.
ADT has a rich and complex history and the biggest challenge for us will be honouring all the amazing people that have played a part in making ADT what is today.
In addition to a bumper performance program, we’re working with Dr Maggie Tonkin, associate professor Cheryl Stock, professor Rachel Fensham and ADT’s very own Adrianne Semmens on After Images, an exhibition that will feature seminal works from each of the company’s artistic directors to create a portrait of the choreographies that have shaped the company and Australian dance more broadly. The exhibition will be free and presented at Adelaide Festival Centre from February.
What are you most excited about for 2025?
2025 is going to be a year of celebration for us here at ADT, with a huge program of performances across Australia.
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We kick off the year with the world premiere of A Quiet Language, presented as part of the 2025 Adelaide Festival. Made in conversation with Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, and featuring live looping composition from lauded local jazz musician Adam Page, the work will see our ensemble track the evolution of Australian dance, examining how it is held in the body and the country upon which we tread.
Then, we embark on a three-month national tour of Daniel Riley’s Marrow. After premiering earlier this year, the bracingly honest work will head to venues including Monash Performing Arts Centre, HOTA Home of the Arts, and Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre.
We round out the year with the world premiere of Two Blood, a major new cross-disciplinary work created with Jasmin Sheppard and S. Shakthidharan (Counting and Cracking). Two Blood will combine text, movement, projection and music from Singapore’s SAtheCollective and Jaadwa composer James Howard to bring an epic story of love and belonging to the stage.
We’ll also host Tagalaka artist Carly Sheppard as our GROUNDswell resident with the support of the Canny Quinne Foundation and have a bunch of other surprises in store.
It’s going to be epic.
Marrow from the ADT. Photo: Morgan Sette / Supplied
Clare Watson, artistic director, Windmill Theatre Co
What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenge for 2025?
Although exciting, it’s a challenge that our regular venue is offline for renovations. But we have taken the opportunity to do things a little differently. We are throwing the doors wide open and inviting oodles of collaboration – with local independent artists, with children, with athletes and with other national theatre companies. 2025 is our year of *experimentation*.
What are you most excited about for 2025?
I’m stoked about Indie-mill, our brand new program for all-original independent work. In 2025, we’re creating the opportunity for independent artists to take the reins in developing an idea for the Windmill audience.
Four teams of up to six SA-based artists each will pitch a concept and use the full breadth of our company resources to develop and share their developing work with an audience. We will see four brand-new, big, bold ideas brought to life over two pumping weeks of creative development. I can’t wait. We’re also touring Moss Piglet across regional South Australia, which will be a blast!
Indi- Mill from Windmill Theatre Co will be a highlight of the year’s offerings. Image: Supplied
Andy Packer, CEO and artistic director, Slingsby
What do you anticipate will be your biggest challenge for 2025?
In our final chapter as theatre-makers, we are deeply aware of our responsibility to be a beacon of hope for the younger generation, especially as we navigate the often-bleak news feeds that affect our daily lives. Finding beams of optimism in the gloom is both a challenge and a privilege.
As we develop our most ambitious project, we are challenged with creating an exceptional theatrical experience for our audience that responds to the current climate crisis, in both content and form. We are embracing innovative ways of working to ensure our environmental impact is positive and regenerative. At the heart Slingsby’s mission is the desire to leave a lasting legacy that resonates artistically and environmentally in the Australian cultural landscape.
We’re also building a portable wooden meeting house which will serve as a vessel for three new shows. This process is already presenting some unique challenges for our production team to overcome!
As we work through these challenges, we remain motivated by the larger goal of creating a lasting, positive impact – not only in the stories we tell but in the way we tell them. In doing so, we aim to ensure that our final work will captivate audiences while making a meaningful contribution to the larger conversation about environmental stewardship and sustainability in the arts.
What are you most excited about for 2025?
In 2025, Slingsby will be in creative top gear with two new productions in development: The Giant’s Garden and The Childhood of the World. We’re particularly excited about the opportunity to reimagine two classic fairytales through a contemporary Australian lens, exploring new ways to tell these stories that resonate both locally and universally. Once complete, these two productions will join The Tree of Light to form the epic triptych A Concise Compendium of Wonder.
This immersive theatre experience will take audiences on a journey through humanity’s relationship with the environment. The collection of stories reflects on our past, our current place in the world, and the legacy we hope to leave for future generations. The themes feel especially poignant for Slingsby as we have recently announced that this will be our final project, making it all the more significant as we craft our last great work.
Performers Kate Cheel, left, and Ren Williams in rehearsal with one of the puppet characters from The Giant’s Garden. Photo: Emma Luker / Supplied
Part two of this story will be published next week, with insights from State Theatre Company SA, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, State Opera SA and others.