The brilliant and bawdy Bondi Festival 2023

This year, the popular Bondi Festival will feature everything the public has come to expect and lots more they never could have imagined. Best of all, the festival celebrates a long-awaited homecoming to its original, now beautifully refurbished Bondi Pavilion. 

This year’s program features an inclusive melange of delights, with something for all the family, something just for the grown-ups, a bit of theatre, cabaret, music, dance, a laugh or two, food and beverage, and something special for non-human family members, too. 

“We’ve got such an exciting program this year with such a variety of offerings that everyone should find something in it for them.  And it’s so great to be able to showcase our brilliant local talent as well as host some terrific international artists.” says festival director, Rachel Chant. “It’s going to be a wonderful, vibrant two weeks in Bondi.”

The now iconic Bondi Vista Ferris Wheel will, as ever, spin like a glowing landmark, a beacon to the central hub as well as a great way to get a seagull’s view of the festivities and the beach. 

Another favourite fixture is the Bondi Festival Ice Rink, offering a rare opportunity for Bondi visitors to skate on real ice. 

Bondi Festival’s 17-day program boasts more than 30 events, performances and activities across a variety of genres and will be shared over a number of locations apart from its core hub in the pavilion. Bondi Beach and surrounds, Badlambs Barbershop, The Blue Hotel Bondi, Campbell Parade, and Queen Elizabeth Drive will all host events. 

The festival will open with a day of First Nations dance, workshops, food, music and immersion into the area’s original culture. Marang, which translates as “sand dunes” in Dharawal language, will take place in the Garu (northern) courtyard and on the land of the Bidjigal, Birrabirragal and Gadigal people. Dig into some bush tucker, learn to weave, create shell-art, get a taste for First Nations’ fare at the pop-up food truck, invest in wares at the market stalls and watch traditional dance by Jannawi Dance Clan. 

Among the highlights of week one of the festival is comedian and songstress, Gillian Cosgriff with her award-winning new show, Actually Good (which actually is). Her natural rapport with an audience and simple, down-to-earth humour has made Cosgriff a reliable crowd-pleaser. 

For the littlies (under 10s) Ants by innovative Melbourne company, Polyglot Theatre, is an experiential adventure that will entertain and may accidentally educate. Giant ants with giant breadcrumbs do their insect thing, gradually encouraging young humans to join in. 

In a Herculean-level challenge of mental athleticism and literary stamina, 24 Hour Party Playwright pits 6 writers, 6 directors and 15 actors against the clock. Aided by caffeine, inspirational objects and a semi-dream state, the writers will hand their manuscripts to the directors and actors who will prepare six plays for performance that same night. It’s theatre on the edge. 

Week 2 is filled with a whole new selection of goodies. 

Waterloo is a stunning, highly acclaimed one-woman play written and performed by Bron Batten. In this riveting piece of contemporary theatre, Batten takes her audience on an emotional and psychological trek. Using the backdrop of a fraught romance, Batten explores the boundaries of human behaviour when it comes to politics, love, war, and veganism. Funny, confronting, thought provoking. 

A queer treat of pink icing and decadent chocolate cream, CAKE will either be the talk of the festival or will strike attendees dumb with shock and awe. A richly layered torte of circus, acrobatics, burlesque, and clown craft, suggestively served with whipped frenzy, this show is for the 18+ sweet tooth.  

One of the most exciting premiere events in 2023 is the Pavilion Paw Parade. Who said it’s a “catwalk”? With a local celebrity leading the way, the canines of Bondi will show those felines how to slink. However, if your dog isn’t very graceful, there will be plenty of other activities to keep those paws and jaws busy. 

Things keep being wild and thrilling in Week 3. Brisbane based company, Pink Matter, blends spoken word and street dance in an energetic, visceral expression of raw sentiment with Betwixt. 

Award-winning drinker of non-award-winning wines, Tash York will ask you to leave your insecurities at the door and embrace hers instead. Drag slayer, cat-lover, and contributor of 80% of the vocals in three-part harmony, the incomparable Tash York presents cabaret like you’ve never seen or heard it before. Together with her lush-ess backup singers, The Red Red Wines (Peppy Smears & Vivian Fonteyn), and copious cheap grog, Tash will make it an evening you’ll never remember. 

This is but a tiny morsel of the feast of art, culture and entertainment that will light up Bondi Beach this winter. 

Visit bondifestival.com.au to discover more. 

June 30 – July 16