Smearing on her bold lipstick and stepping into some funky heels, Brisbane Festival is back and she’s painting the town pink. She’s rowdy, innovative and adored annually by her fellow creative children in the city of Brisbane. Only here for a month, Brisbane Festival makes her return this September and you should trust us when we say you don’t want to miss her.
Returning for its 21st year, this arts festival has an aim ‘to foster the arts’ and connect artists and audiences in ways that lift the spirit and disrupt the conventional. Being the youngest major annual Australian arts festival by at least a decade, Brisbane Festival has established itself as a world class festival and Brisbane’s biggest cultural event. With over 10 categories (including cabaret, film and visual arts) and more than 60 scheduled events, we understand it can be slightly overwhelming trying to organise everything you’d like to see, touch, eat and hear. Think of us as your own personal event tour guide as we give you our top picks for the 2017 Brisbane Festival.
ENTERTAINMENT
Per Te, QPAC
Saturday September 9 – Saturday September 16
From the creators of last year’s La Verità, comes an exclusive Australian premiere of astonishing circus and physical theatre. Through exquisite images of words and music, shared humour, and a beautiful storm of flying objects, you will experience a light-filled hymn to life and learn the fundamental importance of friendship in our tempest-tossed lives.
Tickets & more info available here.
Fun House, South Bank Piazza
Thursday September 7 – Saturday September 23
Bringing all the eye-popping, sugar-rushing, heart-racing fun to this year’s Brisbane Festival, Fun House will feature a cast of international performers, music of viral YouTube sensation DJ Pogo, pale-faced harlequin Spencer Novich, multi-award winning star of Kracken Trygve Wakenshaw, and – direct from Broadway – circus extraordinaire Kyle Driggs.
Tickets & more info available here.
Limbo Unhinged, Cultural Forecourt
Friday September 8 – Saturday September 30
Delve deeper into the vivacious and exhilarating party that was the award-winning, international sensation LIMBO! Alongside the original favourites is a host of new, world-renowned circus performers who are looking to continue the sexiness, sizzle and edge-of-your-seat spectacle.
Tickets & more info available here.
COMEDY
Two Guys in A Box, Theatre Republic QUT
Tuesday September 26 – Saturday September 30
Mathias and Benny are two ordinary guys who live inside a box in the middle of a field somewhere. Their domestic world is a condensed comic cosmos. Featuring Andrew Cory and Leon Cain, two of Brisbane’s best clowns, this new show uses a brilliant combination of clowning, dark comedy and satire to present a contemporary dystopian fairytale.
Tickets & more info available here.
Chef: Come Dine With Us!, Brisbane Powerhouse
Saturday September 9 – Saturday September 16
Perfect satisfaction for all theatre-loving foodies! In a comedic performance, two rival sous chefs compete in the ultimate cooking show, combining jaw-dropping beatboxing and breakdancing, astounding acrobatic displays and pure visual delights. This is a culinary cornucopia of entertainment that guarantees to please every palate – a smorgasbord of treats.
Tickets & more info available here.
An Octoroon, Bille Brown Studio
Saturday September 16 – Sunday October 8
Brash and provocative, this satirical comedy traces its roots back to an 1859 stage melodrama in New York. Focusing on the same global issues as back then, leading Aboriginal artist and commentator Nakkiah Lui (Black Comedy) makes her directorial debut in an Australian exclusive with a version subtly re-contextualised to uncover and skewer Australia’s shameful history of slavery.
Tickets & more info available here.
MUSIC
London Grammar, Riverstage
Saturday September 23
Drift away to the melodic sounds of English trio, London Grammar, at Brisbane Festival’s marquee music event. The indie-pop sensation made up of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dot Major will lead a special Riverstage concert.
Tickets & more info available here.
Thelma Plum, Cultural Forecourt
Friday September 29
Soul powerhouse Thelma Plum is already a seasoned live performer, selling out shows around the nation. After winning triple j’s National Indigenous Music Awards competition in 2012, she is back with brand new content, having spent the second half of 2016 writing unromantic breakup songs for her soon-to-be-released first album.
Tickets & more info available here.
Starman, Cultural Forecourt
Tuesday September 12 – Wednesday September 13
Return to the vibes of the music icon and legend that was David Bowie with the worldwide smash-hit show, Starman. Inspired by his music and style, this cabaret and rock performance with talented entertainer Sven Ratzke and his brilliant three-man band, will be sure to have you grooving in dance and crying in song.
Tickets & more info available here.
FREE (FAMILY & FOOD)
Treasury Brisbane Arcadia, Cultural Forecourt
Friday September 8 – Saturday September 30
The great gathering place on the banks of the mighty Brisbane River is a glittering world of wonder where entry is free, day and night! Think wine bars, live performances, craft beer, food delicacies and stalls, and a spectacular visual installation.
More info available here.
Fantastic Planet, Brisbane
Saturday September 9 – Saturday September 30
Five giant humanoids have landed in Brisbane from a distant planet to quietly observe humans and gently explore our ‘Fantastic Planet’. Artist Amanda Parer’s out-of-this-world light installation depicts a story set in the future in a world inhabited by gargantuan humanoids, where humans are a savage race.
More info available here.
Sunsuper Riverfire, Cultural Forecourt
Saturday September 30
The final canvas and closing curtain to an extraordinary month-long show is the annual 20-minute fireworks display. First dazzling Brisbane in 1998, Riverfire is celebrating its 20th year of making the Brisbane sky brilliantly come to life.
More info available here.
This article was posted on our original site – My City Life, back on the 17th July, 2017.
