Adelaide Festival unveils 2027 programme after the cancellation of its $20 million Aida

ADELAIDE, Australia, 31 October 2026 - The Adelaide Festival has published its 2027 programme, running from 26 February to 14 March, four months after a planned $20 million production of Aida by Fondazione Arena di Verona was cancelled, InDaily reported on 27 October.

The festival's website lists 54 events, including seven world premieres, 12 Australian premieres and 10 Australian exclusives. InDaily gave the full programme as more than 100 events and more than 700 artists under Artistic Director Matthew Lutton.

Works listed by the festival include Bluebeard's Castle, directed by Romeo Castellucci; K., from Franz Kafka, by Barrie Kosky and the Berliner Ensemble; and Oedipus by Robert Icke, a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company. InDaily reported that Richard Roxburgh and Heather Mitchell take the lead roles in Oedipus, and that Bluebeard's Castle plays the Festival Theatre.

InDaily also reported the world premiere of Eucalyptus, an opera by Jonathan Mills and Meredith Oakes after Murray Bail's novel, presented with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and State Opera South Australia. It reported that the visual arts programme is led by Solitude, the Australian premiere of a retrospective of Khaled Sabsabi's work.

The programme has no free concert on the scale of the Pulp performance that opened the 2026 festival. Lutton told InDaily that he had developed a free event but that the feedback from government was that “the funds weren't available.” A state government spokesperson disputed that, telling the publication that “any suggestion that the government has not provided additional funding for a 2027 Adelaide Festival centrepiece is wrong.” The spokesperson said extra investment since 2024 came to almost $5 million, including support for Bluebeard's Castle, and that no taxpayer money had been paid to Aida when it was cancelled.

The contemporary music programme is smaller this year because the festival club has been scaled back, InDaily reported. Lutton told the publication: “I would rather spend the money and direct the resources towards artists and art in existing buildings.”

Adelaide Writers' Week, under new director Rosemarie Milsom, is due to publish its full programme in January, according to InDaily. The festival's website names Min Jin Lee, Magda Szubanski and Dave Eggers among its guests.