Beaker Street Festival has unveiled more than 70 events for its 10th anniversary program, set to take over Hobart and beyond in August.
The Tasmanian science and arts festival will spread across theatres, pubs, mountaintops, galleries and saunas under the theme “The Second Act”, exploring questions of human connection in an age of rapidly shifting technology.
“This year’s theme, The Second Act, is about reinvention,” founder and creative director Margo Adler said.
“It’s about taking stock of who we are, what we value, and how we stay connected to each other in a world increasingly designed to pull us apart.”
The Main Stage program at Hobart City Hall features a lineup of headline conversations and performances.
Science communicator Karl Kruszelnicki returns for live shows in Hobart and Burnie.
Natasha Mitchell will host The Beaker Street Debate, this year tackling whether Australia’s social media ban should extend to adults.
A session called Can’t Look Away will explore how tech companies use psychology and gambling-industry tactics to keep users scrolling, featuring Reset.tech Australia policy director Rys Farthing, human-computer interaction researcher Meredith Castles and tech reporter Vanessa Toholka.
Psychedelics Revisited will feature Monash University’s Paul Liknaitzky alongside a participant from a recent psychedelic therapy trial, hosted by Radio National’s Tegan Taylor.
In one of the more unusual offerings, audiences are invited to a real wedding on the Main Stage, where ABC Hobart breakfast presenter Ryk Goddard will marry Mylinda Purtell in a ceremony framed by conversations about neuroplasticity and second chances.
“It felt fitting for Beaker Street Festival’s 10th anniversary to celebrate in style, where audiences can be part of a Main Stage event marrying neuroscience and nuptials, then let loose on the dance floor with the happy couple,” Adler said.
A centrepiece of the festival is VAST, a world-premiere performance at the Theatre Royal created by Tasmanian composer Constantine Koukias and Dutch sound designer Willem van Erven Dorens.
The immersive 360-degree sound experience is inspired by Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Brian Schmidt’s research into dark energy, featuring more than 120 recorded voices and 80 instrumentalists.
Out in the field, festival-goers can join bat expert Lisa Cawthen, head underground with mushroom farmer Dean Smith or take part in a full-day fermentation workshop in Launceston.
Astrophysicist Kirsten Banks will guide audiences through Indigenous astronomy beneath dark skies at Mount Gnomon Farm in the state’s north-west.
First Nations programming features prominently, with Palawa woman and University of Tasmania senior Indigenous scholar Theresa Sainty leading a sky knowledge experience on kunanyi/Mount Wellington.
The cult-favourite Opening Night Krill Party returns as part of Hobartica, transforming Mawson Place into an Antarctic playground complete with krill karaoke and costumes.
The full program and tickets are available at the Beaker Street website.
