Our Sydney Festival events have been rushing by – and they’ve all been fabulous. David Byrne (ex Talking Heads) and St Vincent (aka Annie Clark) were terrific – singing some new songs and some old Talking Heads numbers (Burning Down the House, etc) backed by a big brassy jazzy band.
- David Byrne and St Vincent
The evening was marred only by Sydney trains – they could not cope with the record breaking heat of a 46-degree day. Our train into the city usually takes 20 minutes, but it took an agoinising one hour and 40 minutes because of signal and track failures.
Luckily we’d left early to eat in town before the show and although we had to cancel our restaurant booking we got to the State Theatre in time to grab a snack and a beer. 
Next was Parramatta Riverside Theatre for a gritty urban dance/circus. “Set against the backdrop of Colombian city Cali, URBAN conjures the rhythm and character of dark street life and a world where life and death are inextricably linked.” Lots of very muscly guys leaping around.
We went to the Seymour Centre for our next outing to see The Rape of Lucrece. “Shakespeare’s The Rape of Lucrece is a politically-charged, sexually
provocative and violent thriller. Internationally acclaimed performer Camille
O’Sullivan brings this rarely performed tragedy to life through story-telling
and song.” It was an amazing piece of work with the language of good old Will shining through. I thought an hour and 20 minutes of a poem would drag, but it was an engaging experience.
