The Sydney Festival ...

The Sydney Festival began on the weekend - a month long festival that overtakes the city of Sydney with artistic events galore.  I decided to get my cultural fix on Sunday with a trip into the city to soak up the atmosphere and check out some museums as well as a festival event.

The Harbour Bridge towers over the streets in The Rocks

I began at the Justice and Police museum in Circular Quay.  Here, there was an exhibition titled 'Sin City' which documented the history of organised crime in Sydney (I have a weird fascination with that kind of stuff) ... the corruption of the police and politicians is quite unbelievable.  And to think that all of this was only 'cleared up' in the mid 1990s.  It certainly makes you wonder about the current lot of police and politicians.

View from the STC's Wharf theatre bar

My next stop was The Rocks Discovery Museum, a free museum in the heart of the historical Rocks.  Here, I learnt about the history of The Rocks, both the Aboriginal and white history.

End Artwork sign in the theatre district in Walsh Bay

In the evening, I headed to the Sydney Theatre Company in Walsh Bay to see 'A Life in Three Acts', which was totally not what I expected!  I booked the ticket without looking to see what the play was about (I admit, I was lured in by the $30 for under 30 ticket).  The 'play' was, in fact, not a play at all, it was a scripted conversation between Bette Bourne, a British drag queen, actor and gay activist and playwright, Mark Ravenhill (who was actually stuck in London with an illness and therefore played by another actor).  The conversation began with Bette's early life growing up as a gay boy in London, progressed into his involvement with gay liberation groups and ended with a discussion of his theatre group, Bloolips.  The performance was interesting, humorous (Bette told some incredibly dirty but funny jokes), sad and informative.  Now, I'm kind of glad that I didn't read about the performance beforehand, otherwise, I may not have gone.

Sun setting on the Opera House

There's certainly plenty happening in Sydney at the moment, and I'm hoping to get back into the city and enjoy a few more performances before the festival is over.