February to March · Western Australia · Perth
Perth Festival
Western Australia's flagship arts festival and the longest continuously running international arts festival in the southern hemisphere.
Perth Festival runs across February and March each year and is the longest continuously running international arts festival in the southern hemisphere, with a programme of theatre, dance, music, film and visual art.
Perth Festival was founded in 1953 and has run annually ever since, making it the longest continuously running international arts festival in the southern hemisphere. It runs for around four weeks across February and March every year and presents an international programme of theatre, dance, contemporary music, classical music, visual art and film at venues across the Perth metropolitan area.
The festival is widely regarded as the cultural anchor of the Perth calendar. Major commissioned works often premiere here before touring nationally, and the festival regularly brings world-leading international artists to Perth specifically for the event. Past programmes have featured Robert Lepage, Pina Bausch's company, Akram Khan, Anna Karenina by Joffrey Ballet, and large-scale Aboriginal cultural collaborations with local Noongar artists.
Lotterywest Films, the festival's outdoor cinema programme, runs a curated international film season at the UWA Somerville and Joondalup Pines screens through the entire summer (December to April). It is one of the longest outdoor film seasons in the world and is a defining Perth summer experience.
The parallel Fringe World Festival runs in January and February at Pleasure Garden, Russell Square, the Wolf Lane lounge bar precinct and dozens of pop-up venues. Together with Perth Festival itself, the two events make February the busiest cultural month in Western Australia. Accommodation in central Perth and Fremantle should be booked at least a month ahead for major performances.
While you are there
