At dusk, a glorious outdoor performance that heralds the beginning of a new Festival era Melbourne’s internationally celebrated outdoor theatre company Strange Fruit returns with an exciting new work.

Created in collaboration with renowned composer Graeme Leak, this world premiere sees the Strange Fruit performers, perched atop their unique five metre poles, swaying among the Federation Bells and playing a specially commissioned score. Beginning with a clarion call to assemble, moving through an atmosphere of quiet meditation to a rhythmic dance, it builds through an energetic alarm and culminates in a celebratory crescendo of massed bells and percussion.

Ringing the Changes is performed at dusk, using natural light and acoustic sound, with the elevated figures silhouetted against the glowing skyline of Melbourne. Part ritual, part spectacle, part soundscape, the effect is mesmeric, moving and intoxicating.