Taste-bud tears as popular Territory restaurant pulls Festival pin

The program for the 2022 Darwin Festival has been announced and there’s a favourite food stall missing. DOWNLOAD THE FULL PROGRAM

AMID the festivity and fanfare, there will be one popular favourite not coming back to Darwin Festival this year.

For 19 consecutive festivals the fabulous Hanuman Restaurant has delighted diners with its tastes and aromas but restaurant owner Jimmy Shu is retiring from hospitality and says the ground has shifted over the past couple of years.

“I’ve been in the kitchen for 55 years and I’m calling it a day. This is part of my retirement after doing the festival for 19 consecutive years,” he said.

Staff shortages are a major issue and he says Federal and Territory Government bureacracy have worn him out.

He said most frustrating of all is the difficulties restaurants such as his have in recruting highly-qualified international chefs into Australia.

“The Federal Government should streamline the immigration process,” he said.

But it isn’t all heartache for Hanuman fans.

If you’re looking for a festival-sized serve of Hanuman delicacies then pop down to India@Mindil at Mindil Beach on Saturday where Jimmy and the team will serve up a treat.

SEE THE FULL DARWIN FESTIVAL PROGRAM

LAUGHTER, tears, joy and drones are on the program for this year’s Darwin Festival, featuring more than 150 performances and 80 events.

On Thursday the full program for the 18-day event was announced, beginning from August 4 to 21.

Featured acts include comedians Dilruk Jayasinha, Vidya Rajan, Dane Simpson, Nath Valvo, Scout Boxall, Zoe Coombs Marr, Tripod and Barnie Duncan.

Life is a cabaret with acts YUMMY ICONIC, Betty Grumble in Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t, and Sarah Ward/Yana Alana in The Legend of Queen Kong.

Live music includes musical genius Tim Minchin in his debut at the Darwin Amphitheatre, songstress Emma Donovan and The Putbacks, Arlo Parks, Jaguar Jonze, Alex The Astronaut, Confidence Man, Elsy Wameyo, Tropical F Storm and Ngaiire.

Festival-goers will delight in balarr inyiny, a choreographed light show of 160 drones led by Larrakia artist Jenna Lee.

Darwin Festival Creative Director Felix Prevail with Festival Artists Carla Lippis and Geoffrey Crowther. Picture Glenn Campbelll

Darwin Festival artistic director Felix Preval said the program would intrigue, astound and delight audiences.

“After two Covid interrupted festivals, its fantastic to be back with I think our biggest program yet,” he said.

“There is so much to celebrate in this year’s program with over 150 performances and 80 events spread across 20 venues and featuring more than 400 artists from the NT, Australia and overseas.

“We’re really excited to be welcoming international acts back to Darwin for the lucky people who live here in the Northern Territory.”

Mr Preval expects the festival will have a “record breaking year” of attendees.

“In 2019, our biggest festival ever, we were close to 160,000 attendances across the entire festival,” he said.

“With all of our major events back in real life, I feel likely that we are going to meet those targets.

Follow the below instructions to download the full official program here.

• Click the link in the top right of the program below

• Once the program has opened, click the download button in the top right

• Save to your computer

• Print at home

• Or pick up a copy from Friday’s NT News

“We kick the festival off with our spectacular opening night concert Bungul.

“Then we roll on to Tim Minchin in the middle weekend, which looks likely to be the biggest show in the festival.

“We close the festival with something Darwin has never seen before, balarr inyiny a massive drone show.

“Over the water 160 drones will take to the sky over three nights and perform a choreographed illustration of a Larrakia songline telling the story of this place and the people who have always been here.

“Some of the incredible projects in this year’s Darwin Festival program have been in the works for years – delayed, postponed or imprisoned by the pandemic.

“Others are spilling hot from the lips of artists responding to the present moment. Some bring stories thousands of years in the telling to Festival audiences for the very first time.

“All are as bold and urgent as anything we’ve ever presented.”

Minister for Major Events Paul Kirby is excited to welcome interstate and overseas travellers back to the Territory.

“It makes a remarkable difference when we’re only a reasonably small population,” he said.

“When we get tens of thousands of people into the city, it does inject that enthusiasm and also that money into the economy.

“We certainly look forward to artists being able to come locally and from interstate and from overseas to complement what will be a fantastic event.”

The Darwin Festival 2022 Program goes live at 9am on Friday June 17 with tickets available to Friends of the Festival members only.

General public sales start 9am Monday June 20.

SHOW LIST:

Cabaret

Betty Grumble

Finucane & Smith’s Travelling Dance Hall

The Legend of Queen Kong

Steven Oliver

Tripod

Yummy Iconic

Circus & Physical Theatre

AutoCannibal

Comedy

Barnie Duncan

Dane Simpson

Dilruk Jayasinha

Lou Wall

Nath Valvo

Scout Boxall

Vidya Rajan

Zoe Coombs Marr

Dance

The Australian Ballet

TWO

Wana

Family

The Boy Who Talked To Dogs

City of Darwin Teddy Bears’ Picnic FREE

Prehistoric Picnic

Troll

Film

Shadow

Music

Alex the Astronaut

Arlo Parks

Bad/Dreems & Black Rock Band

Cable Ties

Carla Lippis Mondo Psycho

Club Awi

Confidence Man

Crooked Fiddle Band

Darwin Symphony Orchestra

Elsy Wameyo

Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

Gabriella Cohen

Hand to Earth

Heartland

Kim So Ra

Jaguar Jonze

The Lazy Eyes

My Sunburnt Soundtrack

National Indigenous Music Awards

Ngaiire

Parvyn

Power and Water Bamboo Bandstand

SonicDrift

Sunshine and Disco Faith Choir

Tim Minchin

Telenova

Tropical F Storm

Whistling Kite New Music

Special Events

ABC Radio Darwin’s Happy Hour FREE

balarr inyiny FREE

Bungul FREE

The Huxleys FREE

Transmutation FREE

Wish Upon a Jellyfish FREE

Welcome to Country FREE

Theatre

The Cold Record (Two different venues)

Dirt

Maureen: Harbinger of Death

Meremere

Sunshine Super Girl

Words & Ideas

Artists In Conversation with CDU

Visual Arts - ALL FREE

16th Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair

Amina McConvell

DVA Exhibitions

Salon des Refuses

Aly De Groot

Telstra NATSIAA

Timo Hogan

Transforming the INPEX Sunset Stage

Wish Upon a Jellyfish Workshops (Ticketed)