Come Out, the national biennial youth fest is about to sprout again. For the fortnight of 2-15 May the festival will overtake Adelaide with a variety of activities in all art forms. As always, the statistics are impressive- 1,690 performer, three hundred performances by fifty-six companies. But Come Out extends far beyond this as school and community programs plug in to activities that take place throughout South Australia. In its scope and vision Come Out is remarkable, unique in Australia and equalled only by similar ventures in France and Canada. Since its inception as a tent show in Bonython Park in the late seventies Come Out has grown into a major arts festival.
It has not been without its difficulties though. Last time round there were signs that Come Out was part of fragile ecosystem. A demoralised and under-resourced school system allowed fewer opportunities to link with enrichment programs like Come Out. Excursions weren’t easy to organise with under-staffing in schools and even moderate ticket prices posed problems for families hit hard in recession. As well as that, Come Out fell between jurisdictions so to speak – families thought it was a school thing and many schools left it to individual students to investigate. There were questions also about how a festival like Come Out links with young people who have very fixed ideas about leisure and recreation – pounded as they are by the relentless howitzers of advertising.
After the 1991 Come Out new approaches were being considered. Director Michael FitzGerald, who had done much to build up the quality and reputation of the festival, stood down and the artistic management switched instead to a directorate chaired by Chris Majewski and including, among others, Cate Fowler, Robyn Goldsworth , Fran Kelly and Andrew Bleby. As Adelaide Festival Centre nominees, Fowler and Bleby reflect an increased involvement of the Trust in Come Out management and decision making. With the shift away from the single authorship of an artistic director, it remains to be seen whether Come Out will show any ill-effects being designed by a committee.
Certainly there are evident strengths in the various parts of the Come Out program. The literature component, Allwrite! is bigger than ever with some forty-two featured writers, illustrators and story tellers including special guests Morris Gleitzman, Emily Rodda and Gillian Rubinstein. The Visual Arts program similarly offers variety and scope with exhibitions, works from indigenous artists and extensive film and video offerings.
Music ranges from calypso drumming and the Triple J Come Out Club to the Adelaide Operafest which combines Malaysia’s Operafest Childrens Choir with the talents of the Adelaide Girls Choir. Other joint ventures include Gormenghast, an adaptation from Mervyn Peake’s distinctive fantasy work performed by the Canberra Youth Theatre, the Canberra Youth Orchestra Society and the Unley Youth Theatre.
Highlights in the theatre program include Two Weeks with the Queen, an adaptation by Mary Morris of Morris Gleitzman’s bittersweet novel. It was immensely successful in its Belvoir Street seasons in Sydney and is likely to be a highpoint in Adelaide as well. Mary Morris has also adapted Robyn Klein’s Boss of the Pool, something for the over-nines from W.A.’s Acting Out Company.
After their success with Funerals and Circuses at last year’s Adelaide Festival, Magpie return to Nunga themes with The Fostering, written by Lily Sansbury, directed by Steven Gration and performed by Lily Sansbury and Carroll Karpany. In the Come Out Plus section, Port Youth Theatre presents Panic Stations, Cirkidz and the Bowden Brompton Youth Circus have Styx and Stones and the Gestures Theatre of the Deaf tell us about Clever Hands and Foolish Hearts. In the Over to Youth Program, St Joseph’s School, Port Lincoln, Unley High School and Scotch College will be presenting productions.
In addition there is Nunga Come Out (featuring performances by Robert Crompton and the return of the Aboriginal and Islander Festival), Dance Magic at the Town Hall and the Restless Dance Orchestra at the Norwood Town Hall. The Grand Opening takes place on May 3 at the Adelaide Railway Station with a cast of two thousand but organisers expect with the various regional events under the auspices of the Education Department the overall number involved will exceed 173,000. Come Out is again promising big things.
The Adelaide Review, No.113, April, 1993, p.38.