Strut & Fret show The Party gears up for Darwin Festival

In Darwin a lavish Spiegeltent has been erected, with a talented team of circus artists preparing a high energy event featuring nudity, acrobatics and showmanship. Find out more.

The Party is not for the faint hearted. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Outside Parliament House, a lavish Spiegeltent has been erected, with a talented team of circus artists preparing a high energy event featuring nudity, acrobatics and showmanship.

Set in an intimate, cosy venue on Festival Lawns, Strut & Fret’s adults-only show, The Party, is shaping to be one of the most anticipated events involved in 2024’s Darwin Festival.

Performer Dylan Ingwersen said audiences would be drawn into the “wild” evening, which escalates as the night unfolds.

“It’s like most parties that you go to where it gets messier and messier, but obviously way more fun,” he said.

“Lets just say, wear your best underwear.”

Emma Phillips, Melanie Hawkins, Demi Jenkins and Dylan Ingwersen as the Darwin Festival is set to takeoff with a raunchy, interactive experience outside Parliament House. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Fellow entertainer Melanie Hawkins said the show was not for the faint hearted.

“A show like this is as live as it gets,” she said.

“It’s very intense, crazy and is so much fun.”

The Spiegeltent environment itself brings the audience within close proximity to centre stage – a deliberate design, exploited by the daring performers.

“It’s great to be in close contact with the audience,” Ms Hawkins said.

“They are very much part of the show, we feed off their energy and if they’re ready for a good time we will give them a good time, guaranteed.”

Such is the intensity of The Party, the show includes an interval to allow attendees to refresh themselves at the bars on-site.

The experience is “pretty immersive”, says Melanie Hawkins. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Hawkins warned that “from the very first moment” attendees would be sucked into the edgy experience.

“I don’t want to spoil anything, but’s pretty immersive,” she said.

“Go to the toilet before you come, have your drinks prepped, double fist it and get ready from the start.”

Further, alongside the Spiegeltent sits a pair of shipping containers in which more than meets the eye.

Inside the metal boxes, immersive experiences, Séance and Flight, beckon thrillseekers who wish to step into new realities brought to life with 360-degree sound, complete darkness and a variety of sensory effects, where each participant is situated at the centre of a unsettling narrative.

With no requirement but to sit down and enjoy the experience, Séance and Flight is suitable for ages 15-years and over, with teenagers aged 13 to 15 required to be accompanied by an adult.

Both The Party and Séance and Flight will be available to enjoy from August 6 to August 25, 2024.

For tickets, visit darwinfestival.org.au