| It's a veritable Feast |
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 Need a creative break? Try Adelaide’s Feast Festival, suggests Peter Burdon. Now in its 12th year, Adelaide’s annual Feast Festival (November 15-30) is firmly ensconced in the Australian LGBT arts calendar. Indeed, Feast is fast becoming a serious international player on the festival circuit, with artists from the Asia-Pacific region, the USA, the UK, Germany and Spain participating in this year’s festival programme. So if you’re looking to get out of Melbourne for a few days – and since Adelaide is less than an hour’s flight away – why not pay a visit to our western neighbours? “Adelaide is a festival city; we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver great events and a great atmosphere,” explains Feast general manager Jennifer Greer Holmes. And for Feast this year she promises that: “there will be a real vibe around the festival. It’s a time where the community really gets out and celebrates, and can be as out and proud as they would perhaps like to be the rest of the year.” As ever, the Pride March on November 15 literally gets the festival underway, beginning this year at Rundle Park before proceeding down Adelaide’s cultural boulevard, North Terrace, and on to the celebrated opening night party on the Barr Smith Lawns at Adelaide University. But once the hangover has been dealt with, prepare yourself for a dazzling array of the best entertainment queer culture has to offer! The theatre program for 2008 is especially strong, with smash hits like Blowing Whistles, the play about relationships, little white lies and internet dating that’s already sold out two seasons in Sydney; New York’s astonishing, gender-bending performance artist Taylor Mac, with his award winning The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac; and Broadway babe Lea DeLaria, presenting a blend of stand-up, backstage stories, and songs from her soon-to-be-released CD, The Live Smoke Sessions. (If you can’t find the time to visit Adelaide next month, Taylor Mac will be performing his ukulele-strumming fusion of performance art, cabaret and drag at the Spiegeltent on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 November. DeLaria will also be performing in the Spiegeltent on the same dates, although tickets are selling fast for both shows, so best to get in quick!) Feast’s live performance series for 2008 is surely the best yet, with Fringe sell-out A Rich Man’s World back at the Queen’s Arms, and the sultry Yana Alana (of Sista She fame) returning with her all-girl band Tha Paranas for another mouthful of their howlingly funny Bite Me. There’s a lot of new work, too, including a Mardi Gras and Midsumma hit, Glace Chase’s ‘punk cabaret’ I Am Glace Chase; and headline international act, the Spanish/Portuguese collaboration Regina vs Contemporary Art, whose show sees an earnest attempt to investigate Western culture spiralling into a sado-masochistic battle of perversions. For live music fans, Japan’s Ikochi are a must-see. “Ikochi are a transgender rockabilly band from Japan who were a crowd favourite last year,” says Greer Holmes. “We’re very pleased to have them back.” Another musical highlight is rock chic Roxi at the Worldsend, while Melbourne’s own party band The Blow Waves will be queering up the Edinburgh Castle for the night. There’s also live music most nights at the Feast Hub at Higher Ground. There’s also plenty of activity off the stage, with a substantial literary programme, including an opportunity to get up close and personal with poet Dorothy Porter in Savour, at which she will reading from two of her verse novels; and several readings presented by independent publishing company Wakefield Press. The Queer Doc programme showcases a range of inspiring and confronting documentary films; while the festival programme also includes a range of outdoor events, forums and discussions, and a strong visual arts program. It’s more than a Feast – it’s a banquet!
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