CIRCUS OZ: BARELY CONTAINED
Barely Contained is a ballroom blitz of barely contained chaos, aerial artistry, acrobatic absurdity and manic mayhem. Laugh, gasp, grasp your seat and go along for the ride as you witness two hours of rubber-limbed tumbling, clowning, chair balancing, teeterboarding, hoop diving, mid-air rope performances, group bike and juggling.

BE YOUR SELF
What makes you 'you'? Garry Stewart's world premiere season of Be Your Self reveals the precarious stability of the concept of self as the work steps through the conventions we use to convince ourselves of a singular 'I'.

BORODIN QUARTET
Originally formed in 1945, not only is the Borodin Quartet one of the world's longest-lasting string quartets; the current members still command an incomparable position of authority in chamber music. The Borodin Quartet has had a unique and remarkable history, including a close relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich, who personally consulted with its members on every one of his quartets.

DUALITIES
Dualities - ancient and new, East and West, darkness and light, here and there, now and then... Dualities - an innovative and enthralling series of concerts - at lunchtime and at twilight - in the rich, heritage surrounds of Elder Hall. Dualities - some of Australia's finest musicians transcend traditional boundaries.

EN MASSE
Audiences are invited into the heart of a spherical space with dream-like images projected all around. In the midst of this evolving world, one musician plays live, her solo voice set against an electroacoustic backdrop, realised by some of the world's most respected sound artists. This is a sensual experience that explores our chances of surviving an increasingly complex and chaotic world.

FLIGHT
The Australian String Quartet opens its season with the sparkling clarity of Haydn's Bird Quartet followed by the atmospheric first quartet by one of Australia's most exciting composers, Paul Stanhope.

FOOD COURT
Driven by an ensemble of artists with intellectual disabilities, Back to Back is uniquely placed to comment on the social, cultural, ethical and value-based structures that define the institution known as 'the majority'.

FRAME AND CIRCLE
Share a journey that explores reality and time. A program of two interrelated works: RUBICON & MERIDIAN. Choreographers PRUE LANG & LEIGH WARREN

GOOD MORNING MR GERSHWIN
The brainchild of director, José Montalvo, and his co-choreographer, Dominique Hervieu, Good Morning Mr Gershwin melds contemporary dance, hip-hop, slamming and tap dancing with live singing and percussion set in a fantasy world provided by a stunning backdrop of big-screen make-believe.

JULIA ZEMIRO'S COMFORT ZONE
What we all love about Julia Zemiro is that she's got all the questions on TV's RocKwiz and all the answers on Thank God You're Here. So no matter whether you're a rock trivia buff or looking for a quick line to get you out of a sticky situation, Julia's our hero. What the world needs now isn't love, sweet love; it's a little more Julia, please.

LA CLIQUE
Sexy, funny and dangerous, La Clique storms back to Adelaide to help celebrate our Festival's 50th year. Join us for a romp in The Famous Spiegeltent with La Clique's Molotov cocktail of cabaret, burlesque, boutique circus, vaudeville and contemporary variety.La Clique is one of the most spectacular shows you will ever see.

LE GRAND MACABRE
Seize the day. Never was there such a mind-boggling work to convey that life affirming message with such force and grotesque inspiration. 'The Big Mac' - as it's ironically nicknamed - is considered a milestone in the history of opera, the only one written by György Ligeti. Enthralling, outrageous, funny and essentially human, don't miss an exclusive opportunity to see this huge new production in Australia.

LONDON SINFONIETTA
The London Sinfonietta has been regarded since its inception in 1968 as one of the great contemporary music ensembles of the world. For the 2010 Adelaide Festival, the London Sinfonietta will perform two very special concerts including works specially commissioned by the Adelaide Festival.

MONTEVERDI VESPERS
Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 is, quite simply, one of the great monuments of music. Bridging the Renaissance and the Baroque with its florid solos and powerful choruses, the work reveals Monteverdi as an accomplished master of both the old and the new, combining styles and influences to create one of the truly great masterpieces of the sacred repertoire.

NGURRUMILMARRMIRIYU (WRONG SKIN)
Now Elcho Island and The Chooky Dancers join hands with multi-award winning director Nigel Jamieson (Sydney Olympic Opening Ceremony, Red Square). Together they fuse traditional culture, dance, film and comedy with influences drawn from mobile phone technology to the unforgettable Saturday night discos, Taiwanese martial art videos and Bollywood. This promises to be an important and joyous moment in Australian theatre.

SHANGHAI BEAUTY
Choreographer Jin Xing, a former colonel in the People's Liberation Army was propelled to notoriety and stardom after undergoing a sex-change 15 years ago. Now acknowledged as China's most famous and successful choreographer she is a leading force in contemporary dance. Sumptuously staged to a score which blends Beijing Opera, German Electronica and Glenn Gould's immortal rendering of JS Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues, Shanghai Beauty provides an intriguing blend of Western influences and traditional Chinese artistry.

TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH TEDDY TAHU RHODES
German-born Sebastian Lang-Lessing leads the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra into this bright and imaginative adventure with a 'prepared improvisation' sizzling with passion by Australian composer, Brett Dean, inspired by his years with the Berlin Philharmonic.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KING JOHN
The Eleventh Hour presents their award winning production of The Life and Death of King John. While Shakespeare's tale takes place in 13th century France and England, this version of the play is set six centuries later but on the same battleground.

THE NECKS
The Necks have redefined hipness on their own terms... After twenty-two years, the creative flow of these three master improvisers is as strong and deep as ever.

THE SAPPHIRES
America had The Supremes. Who remembers, though, that Australia had its own supremely talented singing sensations, The Sapphires? From a sleepy country town, the four McCrae sisters shot to stardom in the bright lights of Melbourne, belting out the hits of their bee-hived heroines in St Kilda's Tiki Club. Picked up by a talent scout in 1968, they were encouraged to dream of fame, fortune and an international career. In 2005 it won two Helpmann Awards for Best Play and Best New Australian Work. In 2010, it will win your heart and have you dancing in the aisle.

THE SOUND AND THE FURY
"Read this. It's a real son of a bitch." With those words, William Faulkner summed up his masterwork, The Sound and the Fury, to a friend. Today it is often considered one of the 100 greatest books of all time. Elevator Repair Service has taken on the most challenging chapter of this demanding work, 'April Seventh, 1928' (otherwise known as 'Benjy's Chapter'), to achieve a work that played to sold-out houses in an extended run in New York.

THE WALWORTH FARCE
It's 11 o'clock in the morning in a council flat on the Walworth Road in London. In two hours time, as is normal, three Irish men will have consumed six cans of Harp, fifteen crackers with spreadable cheese, ten pink biscuit wafers and one oven cooked chicken with a strange blue sauce. In two hours time, as is normal, five people will have been killed.

UNTRAINED
So, you think you can dance? Untrained is a quirky and irreverent theatrical exploration that takes its performers and its audience into a whole new undefined experience.

VS MACBETH
Screw your courage to the stickingplace. We're about to tempt fate. For centuries, Shakespeare's most dangerous tragedy has spawned a legacy of theatrical superstition. In this radical version of Macbeth - there, we've said it - Adelaide's The Border Project team up with Sydney Theatre Company's permanent ensemble The Residents to tackle the curse head-on.

WAYNE SHORTER QUARTET
"To hell with the rules." At 76, after half a century attaining the status of living legend and securing a throne in the Jazz Hall of Fame, Wayne Shorter says: "A lot of musicians worry about protecting what I call their musical foundation. I've got nothing to lose. I'm going for the unknown."

WRITERS' WEEK
In 2010 Adelaide Writers' Week will build on traditions that have evolved over four decades, bringing together writers and readers in a series of stimulating readings, debates and exchanges. Old friends, writers known and respected, will be there alongside new writers with new writing.