The Adelaide Festival Centre has announced its line-up for 2109 with a program featuring classical music and opera, a world premiere from Australian Dance Theatre, two commercial musicals and its own series of festivals, beginning with the Adelaide French Festival, which is back for its second iteration in January, this time celebrating Brittany.

Development workshop for South for Australian Dance Theatre. Photograph © Chris Herzfeld, Camlight Productions

In May, the DreamBIG Children’s Festival for schools and families returns. Among the stage performances are The Gruffalo and the Australian premieres of New Owner, by Perth company The Last Great Hunt (Alvin Sputnik), which uses puppetry, animation and live action to tell a story about a boisterous puppy wanting to be chosen from an animal shelter, and a lonely widow, and Katie’s Birthday Party, a solo piece from Northern Ireland about a the journey of an adolescent girl as she moves from primary school to high school. Other events include Of All The People In All The World, an installation using grains of rice by Stan’s Café in the UK, and an interactive cubby house called Playable CubbyTOWN.

The Adelaide...