Bankstown:Live

Overview

What happens behind our neighbours' closed doors after dark? As twilight falls in Bankstown in Sydney's west, visitors are invited to glimpse the experiences as well as the very homes of those living in the neighbourhood, with collaborative performances from Australian and international artists which showcase the realities of suburban life.

Spread over four hours, Sydney Festival's Bankstown:Live is an immersive selection of theatre, film, audio and animated works curated by Urban Theatre Projects' Rosie Dennis. Long-term residents of Northam Avenue in Bankstown have offered their homes – and their stories – to the audience, including a Macedonian family who emigrated to Australia more than 30 years ago, and 81-year-old David Cranston, who still lives in the same home as he did while growing up in Sydney.

Watch artist Alwin Reamillo build and carry a bamboo hut on the streets, and Joanne Saad's series, Family Portraits, a series of intimate photographs of contemporary daily life. Among the other works presented will be Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Janice Muller's performance adaptation of a story of a Muslim family seeking asylum in Australia, a documentary on Indigenous women and motherhood, a performance by local dancers, animated short films, songs performed by musician Toby Martin and audio works by local writers and residents.