Brisbane Festival

Five Brisbane Festival 2023 shows you’d be mad to miss

The Brisbane Festival is gearing up to kick off the festivities this September, and the line-up they recently dropped is MASSIVE. Boasting an incredible number of acts from across the worlds of music, theatre, cabaret, comedy, visual art and every other medium you can think of, the program is absolutely stacked. Running in its current…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Gareth Liddiard reveals the ragged beauty within his chaotic songs

The audience surrounded the square stage set-up in the middle of The Tivoli. It’s part of Brisbane Festival’s Tivoli In The Round programme, where fans experienced intimate performances from Australia’s best musicians. However, Gareth Liddiard found it unusual to have eyes on him from all directions, quipping to the crowd, “You’ve got to remind me…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Destroyer (Canada) charms with a stripped-back performance

Canadian singer/songwriter Dan Bejar stood alone on the Brisbane Festival’s Spiegeltent stage. Bejar has performed as Destroyer since 1995, crafting 12 exquisite albums of complex, genre-defying music. But, for his debut Brisbane show, he stood alone with his acoustic guitar. “A lot of these songs are translated from different contexts, usually very noisy and with…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Tkay Maidza goes for gold at The Spiegeltent

Trophies and vines covered the stage inside the Brisbane Festival’s Spiegeltent. Those trophies glinted from the venue’s stage lights, but they never shined as bright as Tkay Maidza. The South Australian artist has been on a roll since emerging in 2013 with her debut single “Brontosaurus”, and the energetic show she put on in support…

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Five Arts Festivals not to miss around Australia this September

Slide into spring with some of the most spectacular arts festivals on show right across Australia. From the vibrant and alternative streets of Melbourne to the breathtaking swells on the beaches of Surfers Paradise, there is something for everyone this September. Melbourne Fringe Festival 13-30th September / Melbourne, VIC Bold, vibrant and bubbling with life,…

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9 shows not to miss at the 2018 Brisbane Festival

The Brisbane Festival kicks off on in a couple of weeks on the 8th of September. With the festival boasting 600 performances of almost 70 shows across 17 venues, it’s close to impossible to see everything, or indeed to decide what you should go and see. So, like the good citizens we are, we’ve compiled…

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Brisbane Festival announces mammoth line-up feat. Ball Park Music, Violent Soho, Sarah Blasko, Meg Mac and more

Music lovers in and around Brisbane are about to be spoiled for choice with this year’s Brisbane Festival, which stretches from 8th to 29th September, book-ended by an opening night and closing night that both feature massive line-ups taking to the Riverstage. The former will be headlined by Ball Park Music and San Cisco in addition…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Enter the mad cap world of Strut & Fret’s FUN HOUSE

Making its world premiere at Brisbane Festival, FUN HOUSE is a vibrant mix of circus acts, dance, and vaudevillian comedy, helmed by a unicorn and a bunny – who else?! It’s been (perhaps a little awkwardly) marketed as an all ages show, presented as a family friendly sister act to Strut & Fret’s other Brisbane…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Bitch: The Origin of the Female Species is filled with masterful performances

Edith Podesta truly writes from all the world’s perspective. The parts of the world that are crying, the parts that are growing, even the parts that are howling. A modest plot that even we feel potentially gives too much away in the blurb seems innocent, heartwarming perhaps. Very David Williamson in design, but not even…

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Brisbane Festival Review: I Just Came To Say Goodbye is worth lining up for

I Just Came To Say Goodbye is more than a farewell to bad relationships, bad childhoods and bad dreams. It’s a stupendous sound off of every emotion you’ve spent, every moment you’d traded off and every secret you’ve denied. Worth the lining up, and the extra red from the La Boite’s house bar, the cacophony…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Terror will put you on the edge of your seat (at QPAC to 23rd September)

How can you resist a show named Terror? But don’t be fooled, it’s a quiet terror. It creeps up on you long before you realise its there. But once you see it, what’s most terrifying is asking yourself would you do it? At first, it seemed risky to have a court drama. Many a time…

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POPSART: My two top picks at Brisbane Festival – Laser Beak Man and Orpheus

Brisbane, you are killing me this time of year! Last week I had BIGSOUND and interviews with artists, I moderated two panels for Brisbane Writers Festival, I launched Access Arts brilliant festival Undercover Artist Festival and then the  Brisbane Festival kicked off as well! My pick of the Brisbane festival so far is Laser Beak Man presented…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Zoe Coombs-Marr on her award winning show Trigger Warning

A female comedian, dressed as a male comedian, dressed as a silent Gaulier clown trying not to offend anyone. That is the premise of Zoe Coombs Marr’s award-winning show Trigger Warning, and it promises to have you in stitches. After a successful run last year that saw the Australian comedian win a Barry Award, Zoe…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Deborah Pearson talks us through History History History

If you’re a lover of cinema and history, Deborah Pearson has you covered! In a unique performance that uses audio and memory, History History History transports audiences back to October 23, 1956 and recreates a film that was supposed to screen at the Corvin Cinema the night the Hungarians rose up against the Soviets. Making her…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Creator and Playright Edith Podesta on BITCH: The Origin of the Female Species

“BITCH!”, one of the most complex insults in the English language, predominately used as a derogatory term towards women. But where did it come from?  And why is it used in this way? BITCH: The Origin of The Female Species reflects upon the relationship between humans and animals, exploring the idea that women and dogs…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Composer Robert Davidson talks about The Singing Politician

Taking the words out of our Prime Ministers’ mouths and merging them seamlessly together over of stirring music, The Singing Politician is the classical performance you didn’t know you wanted to see. From Menzies’ ‘Declaration of War’ to Whitlam’s ‘Well May We Say,’ and even a possible appearance from Donald Trump, Brisbane’s Topology and The…

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Brisbane Festival Interview: Lyall Brooks talks Australian Politics and A Prudent Man

Inspired by recent Australian political events, A Prudent Man takes an unapologetic look at memory, ego and power! Written and directed by award-winning playwright Katy Warner and performed by Lyall Brooks, this one-man monologue promises to take a dark comedic tour towards what it means to be right. Playing at the 2017 Brisbane Festival this…

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8 shows not to be missed at this year’s Brisbane Festival

It’s Bris-been another great year of arts, music and experiences in Brisbane but nothing compares to the Brisbane Festival. Sadly, there won’t be another public holiday for it (thanks anyway, Ekka Show) but it will give you 21 days of interactive features, theatrical performances, high-flying acrobatics and international music acts. But how do you choose…

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POPSART at the Brisbane Festival Launch: armour wearing acrobats, Italian horror and Diamonds are for Trevor

It’s worthwhile taking Brisbane Festival Artistic Director David Berthold’s advice on how to attack this year’s just announced stellar line up of art and entertainment, “It’s a feast not a snack, don’t just taste one little tit-bit dive in and sample the whole range, use both hands and take risks!” Brisbane Festival launched on Tuesday morning over coffees and pastries,…

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Brisbane Festival Review: Snow White, La Boite Roundhouse Theatre (performances until September 24th)

Forming part of Brisbane Festival’s Festival Focus: Snow White, and taking over the Roundhouse Theatre at Kelvin Grove’s Theatre Republic, this rendition of the Brothers Grimm classic fairytale was never going to be your standard Disney fare. Leave the kids at home, people! Featuring Snow White (Stephanie Pickett), the Queen (incredible mezzo Silvia Colloca), the Mirror (Kanen…

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Ten shows you’d be mad to miss at the 2016 Brisbane Festival

Earlier this month, the line-up for the 2016 Brisbane Festival dropped, and this year’s theme is ‘Welcome to Youtopia‘. To celebrate the reveal, and to start getting you all super pumped for a jam-packed September, we’ve compiled a list of the ten shows you’d be mad to miss. We’ve left the countdown in the capable hands…

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