Dark Matter VR, Javanese Techno and First Nations Storytelling: Top Picks of Asia Topa’s Performance Stream

For three weeks this summer, Arts Centre Melbourne, the NGV, Fed Square and more venues across Melbourne will become hubs of dance, theatre, visual arts, music, virtual reality and mixed reality – thanks to the return of Asia Topa. Australia’s major triennial festival of performance art returns in 2025 with 33 events; 18 of these are world premieres and 18 are new commissions by Asia Topa and Arts Centre Melbourne, presenting ample opportunity to be the first to see innovative new work from across the region. Some highlights include a VR concert by late pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto; Opera for the Dead , a music and visual experience inspired by Chinese mourning rituals; and a special one-off choral concert featuring musicians and singers from Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The line-up is divided into three public programming streams. The headline Performance stream has already been announced, while the Nightlife stream – described as a mixture of contemporary art and club culture – drops on December 10. And in January, the Knowledge stream will be unveiled, offering visitors the chance to see artists in conversation and attend workshops.

Can’t decide what performances to see first? Here’s our cheat sheet to the shows and events to get you going.

Milestone

The program kicks off on February 20 with Milestone , a newly commissioned, one-night-only event by renowned artist and photographer William Yang. An exhibition of his photos will be set to an original score by Australian composer and Yang’s longtime collaborator Elena Kats-Chernin, to be performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The performance will reflect on the stories of immigration, sexuality, family and creativity chronicled in Yang’s photos.

Oblation

For festivalgoers seeking an innovative music experience, the world premiere of Tamil Australian electronic composer Vijay Thillaimuthu’s Oblation will offer a blend of immersive sound and visual art. Thillaimuthu has fused chanting practices, traditional South Indian and Sri Lankan melodies and rhythms with projections, lasers and vibrations to craft an immersive sensory world for audiences.

U>N>I>T>E>D

Chunky Move will premiere U>N>I>T>E>D at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, running from February 27 to March 2. Watch six dancers morph into post-human mythological beings, decked out in tech. This international collaboration features a gamelan-infused, Javanese trance-inspired techno soundtrack by experimental music group Gabber Modus Operandi, as well as designs by Bali-based streetwear label Future Loundry and Melbourne’s own Creature Technology Co.

Bread, Circuses and Home

From February 28 to March 10, Fed Square will host Bread, Circuses and Home , a free public installation and mini-festival by Delhi-based duo Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra. Working with Melbourne’s Punjabi communities, the duo aims to celebrate the strength and transformation that underlines the migrant experience. Visitors can enjoy Punjabi folk music, radio programming and games as part of the installation. Keep your eyes peeled for more details, to be released in January 2025.

A Nightime Travesty

At Malthouse, A Nightime Travesty returns to the stage after a sold-out run at Yirramboi Festival 2023. This First Nations vaudevillian musical by theatre collective A Daylight Connection blends music, parody, zany costumes and explosions in a production that explores everything from existential horror and genocide to satire and romance.

Broadsheet is a proud media partner of Asia TOPA. Asia TOPA runs from February 20 to March 10, 2025.