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

Counterpilot has a plan for all of us. And all you have to do is say “yes”

From the award-winning techno-troublemakers behind Adrift and Truthmachine, comes a whimsical, interactive experience that we are pretty sure is not a cult…

A public spectacle of disconcerting joy, Not a Cult* invites audiences to put on a pair of headphones, don a patriotic robe, and follow pseudo-inspirational instructions from an enigmatic voice. Together, this impromptu flash mob will conduct a mysterious ritual featuring wheelie bins, tiki torches, and barbecue tongs. Before long, our army of good citizens will have taken over South Bank, spreading their message of unrelenting optimism and rabid Australiana.

Not a Cult* skewers our “she’ll be right” attitude and refuses to bow down at the altar of meritocracy. Fuelled by toxic positivity, multi-level marketing schemes, and the unique purgatory of waiting on hold, this is stinging satire masquerading as a real good time.