For the first time, arts festival Ten Days on the Island will be split among three weekend in three locations: the North-West, the North, and the South. Here's your guide to the events happening in our patch, many of them exclusively held in Northern Tasmania, the weekend of March 15 - 17.
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What's happening where
Culture in every postcode. Zoom in to see what's going on from Scottsdale to Hadspen.
What to see
If you like … the macabre
Bushland - What happens after we die? Put your religious arguments away - we're talking about the body, not the soul. This audio work is an exploration of the biochemical processes of decomposition - a different type of breakdown. Coming to Tasmania from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, and a run around the UK, the work requires listeners to lie down in the grass and go on a lyrical and scientific aural journey of returning to the earth. From 10am to 5.20pm from Friday March 15, to Sunday, March 17, at the Rotunda, Cataract Gorge Reserve, $15 full, $13.50 concession.
Crime Scene - Four Tasmanian artists spotlight brutal killings in and around the now-sleepy town of Longford, laying bare the island's vicious colonial past. This interactive exhibition is held within the Longford Town Hall; the tale of each grisly murder projected onto a forensic tent. Free, held from Friday, March 15 to Sunday, March 17, 10am - 5pm, free.
Dark Rituals - A spellbinding exhibition designed to draw you in and weird you out, with female artists from across the world experimenting with folklore, fairytale, ritual and magic. Held March 13 - April 5, 9am - 5pm weekdays, and 1pm - 5pm March 16 and 17, at the Academy Gallery, free.
If you like … independent filmmaking
Super Night Shot - Convene at the Earl Art's Centre at 8.30pm on Friday and Saturday, and 8pm on Sunday, to watch a film that was shot exactly one hour before the audiences sit down to watch it. Described as "impossible, beautiful, courageous, and epic", the film will draw the city's people and character into a narrative that aims to melt hearts. The group, the Gob Squad, are the masters of this theatre-meets-film experience that has been previously performed in 200 countries and four languages. Tickets $29 full, $26 concession.
Women of the Island - The small-scale web launch of this series was viewed 150,000 times and won multiple international awards. See it on the big screen at the Exeter Showground Hall on Friday, March 15, at 7.30pm, or at Design Tasmania on Saturday, March 16, at 7.30pm, $15 full, $13.50 concession. These ten short documentaries, five - eight minutes each, tell the stories of Tasmanian women.
If you like … your culture in a beautiful setting
The Enchanted Island - A special concert of Baroque opera, featuring the sublime music of GF Handel, set in Lebrina's Clover Hill vineyard. Soprano Sara Macliver, mezzo soprano Anna Dowsley, and bass-baritone Christopher Richardson will sing sublime arias, accompanied by period instrument ensemble Van Diemen's Band. Saturday, March 16 at 4.30pm, general admission free, premium opera package $89 full, $80 concession.
Nowhere - A unique collaboration between writer Adam Thompson, choreographer Yolande Brown, and dance company Stompin, this show is a literal and figurative journey through the Tamar Island Wetlands. Held 6pm Wednesday March 13 - Sunday March 17 and 1pm on Saturday March 16. Tickets $30 full, $25 concession.
If you like … big drama in small towns
The Protecting Veil - Tasmania's living theatre treasure Robert Jarman returns with this solo show about the power of ritual in modern life: equal parts an investigation of life and death, and of tea and cake. Held on Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm, at Cycles @ the Empire, Deloraine, $39 full, $35 concession.
Stalin's Piano - A performance from master pianist Sonya Lifschitz, this captivating tour de force blends virtuoso piano, texts from iconic creative and political figures from Goebbles and Stalin to JFK and Julia Gillard, archival video footage, and Lifschitz' speaking voice. Held at Gallery 9, Deloraine, on Saturday, March 16 at 8pm, $49 full and $44 concession.
The Iliad Out Loud - Actor and playwright William Zappa thrillingly brings this 3000 year old epic poem - Homer's story of Greek hero Ulysses and the fall of Troy - to life, in a three-part reading at 7.30pm at the Clarendon Arms Hotel, Evandale on Friday, March 15, the Rosevears Hotel on Saturday, March 16, and at 2pm at Entally Lodge, Hadspen, on Sunday, March 17, $29 each or $65 for all three.
If you like … stuff for children and adults
Peter and the Wolf - Prokofiev's classic children's tale, brought to life by Madame Lark and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Held Thursday, March 14 at 4pm and 6pm at Albert Hall, and Friday, March 15 at 5pm at Scottsdale Primary School, $10.
Baba Yaga - Packed with song, dance, jokes, crazy costumes and video projections, this children's theatre performance - retro-futuristic adaption of a Russian fairytale - is fresh off a critically-acclaimed run at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival. Held at 2.30pm on Saturday, and 11am and 2.30pm on Sunday, March 16-17, at the Earl Arts Centre, $25 full, $22.50 concession.
The Children's Party - This show is 'by the children for the children', an introduction to the world of politics that demonstrates how to make your voice heard. Held March 16 - 17 at 10.30am and 2pm, City of Launceston Town Hall, $25 full $22.50 concession.
Find out more
See tendays.org.au for tickets.