Around Melbourne
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You know what may have knocked out the previous iteration of Asia TOPA (aka the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts), the vast multi-disciplinary festival combining theatre, music, dance and more from across the Asia-Pacific region. But as the ancient Chinese proverb from the Huainanzi puts it, “Bad luck often brings good luck.”
All good things come to those who wait, after all, and the 2025 program is absolutely stacked with astounding works of wonder. Radiating out across the city from the festival’s hub at Arts Centre Melbourne, the three-week celebration of cultural collaboration is spread across three key streams
Nightlife kicks off an exciting new focus on connecting younger audiences to the arts through a big Brat summer vibe, including a dedicated dance party space at the Arts Centre dubbed Club 8 after the floor on which it’s located and its luckiness in Chinese numerology.
The go-off nights will be curated by a revolving roster, including a Kiki Ball curated by Kianna 007 Oricci and Mirasia. There’s a team-up between Taiwanese artist, DJ and techno star Betty Apple and out-there extraordinaire queen Betty Grumble, working on Gadigal land. Hip-hop stans can catch Filipino sister act Fateeha and Miss A with fellow Morobeats hero DJ Tha Wzard plus Thai rapper Réjizz. And First Nations-led festival Yirramboi will also host Aotearoa outfit the Katayanagi Twins and more, with visuals from Sapphic Flicks. NGV’s Friday night dance parties will sashay in line with Asia TOPA, so you can check out the Yayoi Kusama retrospective while getting loose.
Glittering in Asia TOPA’s central Performance stream, Naarm-based dance supremos Chunky Move will take over the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to unveil their wild new work U>N>I>T>E>D. Working with Javanese outfit Gabber Modus Operandi, who collabed with the high priestess Björk, the new work also features animatronics from Creature Technology Co in a wildly inventive work invoking mythological creatures. MTC will host future-forward comedy The Robot Dog, starring co-writers Hong Kong-born Roshelle Yee Pui Fong and Luritja man Matthew Ngamurarri Heffernan.
First Nations legends Kamarra Bell-Wykes (Jagera/Butchulla) and Carly Sheppard (Takalaka) combine forces with queer theatre hero Stephen Nicolazzo works to restage their delirious fun dystopia A Nighttime Travesty at the Malthouse. Kolkata queen Rakini Devi will offer one-on-one audiences with The Female Pope at the Arts Centre. And get ready to get weepy when you can meet the late, impossibly great Japanese Oscar-winning movie composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in a virtual reality paradise of performance he co-created by VR wizzes Tin Drum in Kagami.
With all this and so much more on offer, Asia TOPA’s third stream, Knowledge, allows you to get up close and personal with the shimmering smorgasbord of Asian-Pacific creative talents with scintillating Q&A sessions and host-led conversations, helping you get into the guts of their work, plus hands-on practical workshops too, so you can be part of making the magic.
Patience is a virtue, but now it’s time to have fun! View the full festival program and book tickets at the Asia TOPA website.
