The inaugural program of Artistic Director Ebony Bott includes the world premiere of Suzie Miller’s latest play Strong is the New Pretty about the creation of the AFL Women’s Competition, and a new movement piece about mortality from The Farm called No One Gets Out of Here Alive (see page 63). La Boite presents Michelle Lim Davidson’s personal drama Koreaboo about her visit to Seoul to meet with her somewhat disinterested birth mother. The best-selling pub-themed show The Choir of Man has a season in the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, while Luke Murphy’s part crime-drama, part psychological thriller Scorched Earth arrives after a New York season. This year’s new Festival Village – a large-scale riverside precinct at South Bank – also promises to be a lively spot with plenty of free and ticketed events.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

A rip-roaring ride plunging two best friends into the depths of the Chinese afterlife, crossing genres, realities, and theatrical convention with infectious zest.

Co-created by Joe Paradise Lui and Merlynn Tong (Golden Blood), LEGENDS draws on the unique talents of many theatre artists from Australia’s Asian diaspora. It’s a powerful, deeply personal examination of the Chinese cultural experience and the enduring power of friendship, revealed through a hilarious yet subtly moving lens.

Merlynn and Joe are used to fiery clashes – but what old friends aren’t? As they spend a night holding vigil for their dead grandfathers, their conflicting attitudes towards traditional values grow more and more heated. Merlynn wants to preserve the rites of her forebears, while Joe thinks it’s all a load of superstition. But the lords of the Underworld have their own thoughts on all of this, and they’re going to drag our heroes beyond the grave to resolve their differences.