Perth Festival announces three new dazzling shows for 2027 program
Perth Festival has today revealed three remarkable events as part of their 2027 program: the theatrical thriller ROHTKO, the beautiful visual opera Operation: Orfeo, and internationally lauded Australian band The Avalanches.
One of the highlights of this summer’s program is set to be the Australian-exclusive season of ROHTKO, taking over His Majesty’s Theatre from Friday, February 5, to Saturday, February 13. Centered on one of the biggest real-life scandals in the art world, the production fuses theatre, tech, and live cinema to explore art and authenticity in a fast-changing world. It tells the story of a couple who purchase a painting by Latvian-Jewish artist Mark Rothko for $8.3 million in 2004 but years later discover the artwork was not by Rothko himself but by a Chinese math teacher from Queens.
From trailblazing Polish director Łukasz Twarkowski, ROHTKO features pumping techno beats, two huge video screens, and stunning set design. Brought to life by Dailes Theatre (Latvia) in collaboration with Twarkowski’s close creative team and actors from Latvia, Poland, and China, it asks, “Can a fake painting evoke real feelings?” “What is real art, and what is it worth?”
“This is the kind of work I want Perth Festival audiences to experience,” added Perth Festival Artistic Director Anna Reece. “Bold, technically audacious, intellectually thrilling, and made with outstanding ambition. I’m incredibly proud that, for one exclusive season, it will be presented at Perth Festival, and I hope theatre lovers from across the country will consider treating themselves and joining us this summer to experience it.”
Next up is Operation:Orfeo, a hypnotic depiction of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth told through remarkable voices, light, architecture, and illusion. Part opera and part visual artwork, it will take audiences on a descent into the underworld with four performances at His Majesty’s Theatre, running from Thursday, February 25, until Saturday, February 27.
Created by Denmark’s legendary Hotel Pro Forma, Operation:Orfeo was first seen in Australia in 1996 as part of Barrie Kosky’s Adelaide Festival and has gone on to become a landmark of contemporary performance. Now, nearly three decades later, the work has been brought back to life as part of a major retrospective celebrating the magnificent legacy of Copenhagen’s visionary director and Hotel Pro Forma founder Kirsten Dehlholm (1945-2024).
In 2027, the production will feature the Latvian Radio Choir performing Ib Michael’s sensuous libretto as symphonic acapella singing, alongside music by Bo Holten, with excerpts from John Cage and Christoph Willibald Gluck.
The internationally acclaimed Australian band The Avalanches are also slated to perform at Perth Festival 2027, bringing their new album No Bad Memories to the festival’s major cultural precinct, East Perth Power Station, on Sunday, February 28, the final night of the festival.
Inspired by the simultaneously magical and insidious ways advertising and name-brand technology wrap themselves around our memories, No Bad Memories is an ambivalent ode to the “nostalgic pull of commercial jingles, proprietary start-up sounds and long-forgotten audio logos”. Set for release on Friday, October 16, collaborators on the album include Jamie xx, Haley Joel Osment, Mike Patton, Suzanne Ciani and Khadija Al Hanafi.
“I’m incredibly proud that two of Europe’s great artistic visionaries will bookend this festival,” added Perth Festival Artistic Director Anna Reece. “Together, they represent two very different but equally thrilling possibilities for what live performance can be.”
“And at the heart of it all, a reminder that East Perth Power Station is back, our iconic riverside home for summer with The Avalanches dropping into our lineup. I’m delighted to reveal our opening hand a little early. Clear your diaries. We’re not planning a quiet summer.”
The full program for Perth Festival 2027 will be announced on Thursday, October 29.
ROHTKO is showing at His Majesty’s Theatre from Friday, February 5, to Saturday, February 13; Operation:Orfeo is showing at His Majesty’s Theatre from Thursday, February 25, until Saturday, February 27; and The Avalanches play at East Perth Power Station on Sunday, February 28, as part of Perth Festival 2027. Tickets are on sale Friday, September 11, 2026, from perthfestival.com.au