Music, theatrical and even comedy/cabaret events have frequently gotten the lion's share of programming and public attention at the Melbourne International Festival. Whilst there has certainly been more considered attention paid to ensuring that an effective international visual arts component is mediated through the final program, most festival directors have come from a theatre or music background. Do theatrical events slide easily into the dominant media/entertainment/celebrity/sports/politics linkages that form a consistent no-brainer wallpaper in Melbourne cultural life?
Experimentation becomes another attention-grabbing stunt (like the publicists' goody bag attached to the invitation received by the ticket-free A-list travellers) which, despite the festival program's employment of the adjective 'challenging', becomes increasingly empty. And the general public still continues to queue for the Lion King at another theatre. Festivals also include a strongly conservative and formal component–usually in the context of classical music performances by recognised virtuosi or groups both local and overseas in recognition that as flat earth societies go the classical music establishment still packs a mighty punch in terms of sponsorship and profile possibly due to the influential centrality of the ABC.
