This month, Bondi Pavilion will again be transformed for the winter as part of Bondi Feast, the festival of entertainment and music that showcases more than 50 events from 100 artists. We caught up with festival director Phil Spencer to find out what’s on the program.
This is the third edition of Bondi Feast – can you give us a brief overview of its history?
In 2012 myself and festival co-founder Zoe Norton Lodge could feel winter looming in on Bondi and we firmly agreed that if the Pav was going to kick serious artistic goals in Sydney, it couldn’t hibernate over the chilly season. So we made a few gallons of mulled wine, called a bunch of theatre-makers, comedians, storytellers and jaffle makers and we started Bondi Feast. From day one, the local uptake for the festival was phenomenal. That may or may not have been due to the mulled wine.
What are some of the best highlights from the festival this year?
Some of the 2014 highlights include comedy duo Jared Jekyll and Cameron James with their mix of theatrical storytelling, vaudevillian banter, live music and Hawaiian shirts. Plus we’ve invited Eddie Sharp (Erotic Fan Fiction), Vanessa Bates, Caleb Lewis and Sabrina D’Angelo to the party. We’ll also have a 24-hour playwright program, a bumper edition of Cut & Paste, and Shannon Dooley’s ’80s Retrosweat dance class is on the bill – so bring your spandex.
Apart from the shows, you’ve also got food and drink covered?
Each night is a new menu, with food from Night Hawk Diner, Al Cabon, Tsuru, Raw Eats and Veggie Patch. Plus the Batlow Cider boys are sponsoring us, so we’ve got plenty of hot spiced ciders to warm you up! The Festival Bar is open from 6pm, Tuesday – Saturday.
Do you have big ambitions for where the festival might be in three more years from now?
Bondi is not the first name that rolls off your tongue when you talk about the arts in Australia. But maybe in three years, after we’ve thrown a few more Feasts, supported a few hundred more artists and continued to showcase the most exciting new works alongside cracking local food trucks, then maybe – just maybe – Bondi will be up there. And besides, the view from the Pav balcony isn’t going anywhere anytime soon!
Bondi Feast is held attheBondi Pavilion until Saturday July 26. For the full schedule, head to the Bondi Feast website.
