FESTIVAL DAYS

Ack! It's the Darwin festival again - already! And for the third year in a row I've managed to arrange things so that it's during the month I'm feeling least inclined to do anything with my cash. The first year I was still looking for work, the second I was saving my pennies for a trip to the USA and this year I'm doing the same for an impending NZ departure...and all going well I won't be here for it next year. So, better take my chance to give a nod to Darwin's largest art and culture event.

Despite my frugality and general lack of organisation, there are luckily a few free events going on and thus far I've managed to get along to one show; 100% Darwin. The 100% project was started in Berlin and I can best describe it as something akin to a city-wide chain letter. Started by the selection of one person, each person selected then picks another to be part of the 100 strong group, who over the course of a two hour performance disclose their thoughts, opinions, dreams and anecdotes to the audience. The aim is to present a cross section of the city and to share some of the experiences those people living in the same space as you have of the place - some very similar, some vastly different. It's kind of like speed dating a location. Though I had some positive and some disappointed feelings towards the beliefs and ideas being displayed by those on stage, one thing that really made me happy was the beautiful diversity that such a small city as Darwin has - the range of origins and the cultural mixes. It was also a great leveler, no one person's story was more special than anyone else's and the common thread of experiences wove together into a wonderful tapestry of humanity. I'd certainly recommend it if it comes to your town.