The Festival State

Posted at 8:30 AM, Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Both Yonatan and Nadav had a terrific weekend. Yonatan travelled two hours northeast to the Riverland for a full weekend Scout camp. He engaged in all manner of water-related activities, including sailing, canoeing, and splashing around in the billabong (pond). I threw his camp clothes directly in the washing machine and made an earnest effort not to smell them. Nadav mourned Yonatan's departure and complained bitterly that his brother had abandoned him. To cheer him up, I arranged for him to sleep over at a friend's house Saturday night. The result was that Bobby and I suddenly found ourselves childless for an entire night for the first time since we'd moved to Australia 2 1/2 years ago.

Having a night to ourselves while both the Adelaide Film Festival and Adelaide Fringe were in full swing felt a lot like an early birthday present. We lingered over the two catalogues trying to decide what to do with our free evening. We briefly considered the play "My Life as a Worm," which was described as follows: "Aldous Huxley's Brave New World meets Vanilla Sky on acid! An experimental theatre piece about a world where human worms suffocate in dreams transmitted by corporations." Bobby decided against it, arguing that he would like at least the possibility of enjoying himself at whatever cultural offering we chose. Ultimately, we decided on "Stella," a French film about the sad life of an 11 year-old Parisian girl whose parents are too busy looking after their pub and boarding house to pay attention to her. Bobby wondered how the director decided when to end the movie. He guessed that she had run out film.

The movie itself was someone incidental to the excitement of the evening. We strolled down Rundle Street to the theatre, and the sidewalk was so choked with people that we sometimes had to wait our turn to keep walking. The cafes and pubs were full and exploding with noise on a magnificently cool and clear evening. We picked up our tickets and joined an enormously long line of hip-looking people waiting to file into the theatre. As we made our way back to the car after the movie, the sidewalks were even more crowded and the cafes noisier than before. Theatre-goers were lined up at various points on the street, waiting to push into second-floors of restaurants where late-night shows were soon to start. I really felt like I'd done something beyond my normal plain of existence.

Adelaide is transformed only once each year, as thousands of tourists descend on our festivals and Adelaide natives venture into the city for a heavy dose of culture. I wish there were some way to sustain the buzz year round, but I don't think we could handle it. In the midst of the world economic crisis, it was quite reassuring to see thousands of people having a night on the town. Our economy can sure use the boost.