When people talk about the regional Victorian town of Castlemaine (population 7,000), these are the kinds of things they mention: it has more retired clowns and people with PhDs per capita than any other place in Australia. It has the most male-only book groups anywhere outside Dublin. It boasts three theatre companies, at least seven community choirs and was recognised by PETA as the most vegan-friendly small town in Australia.
It also boasts regional Australia’s oldest and largest state arts festival, which is on now. The Castlemaine State festival has been running since 1974, 10 years before the Melbourne festival started. This year, it features 140 performances of local and international acts that run over a 10-day program. Artists include international performers such as Korea’s Ambiguous Dance Company and Iceland’s JFDR, and about one third of the line-up is local.
Around 20,000 tickets are expected to be sold to the biennial festival, with director Glyn Roberts predicting the economic benefit to the central Victorian community is worth between $2-3 million. In previous years around 40,000 visitors have descended on Castlemaine during festival time.
Many of the events are held in gold rush-era 19th century venues, which showcase the town’s charms as well as the talent on the program. This is Roberts’s first term as the festival director, after a stint at the Brisbane festival, and he has curated the program with the town’s distinct personality in mind.
So it was fitting then that last Friday, the festival opened with a participatory dance performance on the footy oval. Locals dressed in colours that corresponded to their star sign and joined dance company Deep Soulful Sweats in a performance of their production Equinox, based on the zodiac. A full moon added to the atmosphere.
On Saturday, in a very different style of performance, Indigenous classical musician Eric Avery left audiences stunned at his violin interpretation of Aboriginal songs that are thousands of years old. Avery was joined on stage by his father, Graham, who played the didgeridoo.
Meanwhile, cabaret performer Yana Alana performed a hilarious show on Monday night that involved drawing the face of Scott Morrison on her butt cheeks and moving them so it appeared as if he were talking.
On Wednesday night, the streets were filled with members of the Bosnian diaspora who had come from Melbourne and interstate to hear their national treasure, Božo Vrećo, sing 500 year-old Bosnian folk songs. Even those of us who didn’t understand a word of it found the performance thoroughly enjoyable – it was great watching 300 people sing along.
On closing night, founding Bad Seed Mick Harvey will perform the songs of Serge Gainsburg at the same venue – the gold rush era Theatre Royal, which also hosted a high-energy performance on Sunday night from Gareth Liddiard’s new band, Tropical Fuck Storm.
Also on the bill, Italian harp virtuoso Floraleda Sacchi giving her first concert in Australia and Story of A Wanderer from Indonesian performer Abdi Karya.
Selling out early were a series of salons where musicians, such as the Omega Ensemble, played for small audiences in private homes and more intimate venues. The festival also includes a literature, visual arts and feminist-themed film component titled Not Your Sheila.
Figures from the Mount Alexander Shire using VicHealth survey data show that, compared with other areas in Victoria, the people who live in the Castlemaine area are most likely to participate in arts and crafts – 51.2% say they do, which is significantly higher than the state average of 34.9%.
“This town has a wealth of artistic talent – with some of the world’s best artists living here,” says Roberts, citing visual artist Cameron Robbins and Lizzie Welsh, a baroque violinist who are both festival performers. “People in this town love to express themselves.”
And festival time makes the most of it.
• The Castlemaine State festival is on now and runs until 31 March
