Ten Days on the Island, Tasmania
Tasmania’s biennial international arts festival, Ten Days on the Island, was held from 23 March to 1 April 2007.
Tasmania’s premier Statewide cultural event attracted an audience estimated at over 140,000 people. The multi-art form program explored the cultural uniqueness of islands, presenting international artists and acts from island locations, alongside Australia’s finest talent. More than half the program featured Tasmanian artists.
Dramatic performances are part of the Ten Days on the Island biennial arts festival in Tasmania. ©Tourism Tasmania and Derek Butt
The 2007 Ten Days on the Island festival offered a multitude of free and ticketed events and was the most far-reaching ever, with a host of new commissions, world and Australian premieres, and with something for every taste and pocket in every local-government area.
The physical beauty of Tasmania offered many festival events sublime settings, including Cygnet, Port Arthur and Hobart’s historic Salamanca in the south; Bridport in the north; Lillico in the north-west; and at the beautifully preserved northern midlands village of Longford.
With more than 100 free and ticketed events in 50 towns across Tasmania, Ten Days was a showcase for the talented artists, venues and special communities which combine to make Tasmania a great place to live and to visit.
highlights of the 2007 program
Memorable outdoor events included the “Isle of Plenty” celebrations at Cygnet, Bridport and Lillico and the spectacular “Dream Masons” in Hobart’s Salamanca Place, which attracted more than 10,000 people.
Hopkinson Smith’s “A Dream,” Paul Capsis and Christine Anu at the Crystal Palace and “The Little Match Girl” by Danish company, Gruppe 38, were sell-out performances.
Other popular events were Linda Mancini’s “Bikini,” “Wheeler’s Luck” and “Dublin by Lamplight” at the Theatre Royal.