William Yang: Milestone (Sydney Festival) ★★★★

Created by William Yang. World Premiere. Sydney Festival. Roslyn Packer Theatre. 10-11 Jan, 2025.

After the epic, emotional Grand Slam of The Inheritance last year, Sydneysiders who wanted more connection to their gay elders were given the opportunity as William Yang presented Milestone at the Sydney Festival. To celebrate his 80th birthday, this artist and fixture of Sydney’s LGBTQ+ scene presented a visual and musical memoir of his life as a gay Chinese-Australian.

Those who have seen any of Yang’s previous talks or slideshows will find much of Milestone familiar, as it pulls together the various strands of his work into a single narrative. But, like listening to an older relative repeat a beloved story, there is warmth in the familiarity and a mythic quality to the retelling. Yang captures a world that has been lost to us in time and through the ravages of age and AIDS.

A more personal tale than his previous shows, Yang places his own life at the forefront with a retrospective air. Unlike earlier works that focused on individual themes, the totality of his experiences becomes the thread that binds it all together, producing a unique tapestry of life. His stories of sibling dynamics merge with the heyday of Gay Liberation, and the founding of his art practice blends with the self-discovery of his multiple identities (as a gay man, a Chinese man, a photographer, and a chronicler of moments).

The presentation is accompanied by new orchestrations by Elena Kats-Chernin, conducted by Simon Bruckard, which lend certain moments extra emotional resonance or cinematic scope. Some of his candid shots may at first seem ordinary until viewed through the lens of Yang’s stories and memories. His voyeuristic work becomes celebratory rather than salacious, thanks to a twinkle in Yang’s eye or the uplift of the music.

Milestone is, at times, melancholy as it lingers in the past. The bittersweet swell of emotion for loves no longer with us and for great parties that are now just memories. This is a walk through a slice of Australian history, but more importantly, it is an opportunity to connect with our own line of unique queer and Asian experiences in this rough land we call home.