Kate Fell has announced her final program as Artistic Director of the Darwin Festival, following a four-year tenure, as the search begins for her successor.

“This final festival is about celebrating the extraordinary creativity of the Top End, the artists and communities who make this place so special, and the audiences who return year after year to experience Darwin at its best,” said Fell.

Darwin Festival Park. Photo © Georgia Politis

Running 5–23 August, this year’s program includes 405 performances, six world premieres and an expanded Festival Park precinct. Music, comedy, circus, theatre and Indigenous contemporary dance sit alongside classical ballet, award-winning art, family fun and thought-provoking talks, with audiences sitting under starry skies in the Top End’s stunning dry season.

“Darwin is a world away in the best possible sense, and Darwin Festival captures its magic, vibrancy and cultural connections unlike any other festival in the country. Where else could you watch a cult band like TISM, eat a Sri Lankan hopper by a MasterChef alumni, join in a surreal marathon aerobics session,...