Strong is the New Pretty |
I’ll be honest, as the curtain closed I was fighting back a quiet wave of emotion. Not from sadness, but a massive rush of adrenaline, pride and raw energy. The emotional core of ‘Strong Is The New Pretty’ hit me right in the chest, driven by passion, vulnerability, strength, and team spirit.
The Choir of Man | Andrew Kay & Nic Doodson
The Choir of Man is a joyful, upbeat, musical celebration of mateship, community, friendship and pubs. Impressive harmonies, fabulous tap dancing, live music, and excellent audience engagement all make for a fun night out. Go with your mates or—in the best tradition of British pubs—just turn up on your own and leave having made a few new friends.
Old. New. Borrowed. Blue. | Camerata
Camerata’s Old. New. Borrowed. Blue. is a captivating collaboration with Anthony Romaniuk. Dave Brubeck’s iconic Blue Rondo à la Turk, as reinvented in Romaniuk’s fresh setting for strings and harpsichord, was my favourite piece of the night. Fast, fabulous, and fun, Romaniuk’s arrangement made me smile - playing homage to the jazz original, but drawing classical music and traditional instruments.
Saplings | Australian Theatre for Youth People
I loved Saplings. Full stop. It is probably the best piece of young people’s theatre I’ve ever seen, and I hope that it continues to be staged over the next decade. It’s a show that deserves to be seen by as many young people as possible, but perhaps more importantly, it’s a show that young people deserve to see. If you get the chance to see it, I implore you to attend - preferably with any young people you know in tow.
Second Coming | La Boite Theatre
What made it work so well for me was the balance. The production knew exactly when to pump the brakes, contrasting all that frantic comedy with a few quiet, intimate dialogue down at the front of the stage as Evie shared her inner struggles with Alan, pulling me right into her world.
Kooza | Cirque du Soleil
KOOZA is a box of delights that wows, thrills, and amazes audiences. The ‘Army’ of acrobats creates impressive sequences of pyramids, tumbling, ‘trampolining,’ balancing, teeterboard and lifts that are a fun, and quite fabulous demonstration of jumping, catching, strength, balance and trust. But it is the chair balancing and exhilarating Wheel of Death acts that may just have me going back to see this show again.
Sheltering | Bangarra Dance Theatre
The Bangarra dancers move beautifully as an ensemble throughout all three pieces. The choreography is often technical and dense, yet they move incredibly well together without losing individual expression in the process. I can recognise what look to me like references to traditional dance styles, mixed in with a more common contemporary dance language. The result is choreography that feels both distinctly Indigenous as well as captivatingly modern and fresh.
Never Closer | Underground Theatre Company
What I found most compelling was the authenticity of the character dynamics. Each performer was fully committed, and their Irish accents felt natural, grounding the dialogue in what sounded like genuine, unscripted conversation. The relationships between the friends were tangible; sitting in the audience, I could feel the tension and the thick, awkward air between them.
god eater | Jag Popham
Jag has been successful in making something destabilising and original. The show delivers on intensity, discomfort and strong choices. This is not an entry-level contemporary dance work, but if you like pieces that make you work a little and feel a lot, god eater is an interesting contribution to the contemporary dance genre.
Sisters | Perseverance Street Theatre Company
I can imagine this work could open up important conversations and thoughts for many audience members regarding what ‘counts’ as abuse, and for that I commend it. If the concept or promotion surrounding Sisters interests you, I do think it is a show worth watching - it is a well-constructed and well-performed piece of theatre that tackles real themes that seemingly spoke to many people.
PRAMKICKER | MO Theatre
PRAMKICKER is a testimony to this indefatigable spirit of women. Even at their worst, supposedly ugliest, and emptiest, kindness and the promise of better days prevail in horizons they dare to imagine and sisterly friendships. PRAMKICKER is an exposé. Newsflash: we are all navigating life in real time with no manual—and that is more than okay.
Fireface | The Velvet Collective
I was instantly pulled into the production’s stark, intimate world. The play demanded my attention from the outset, pulling me into a domestic space that was as visibly decaying as it was volatile, inviting me to witness the unsettling disintegration of the family drama at its core.
Homegrown | Loose Tooth Theatre
Writer Sarah Esser has achieved what I had previously thought was impossible - a horror play that is genuinely uncomfortable and upsetting. While many stage additions to the genre sit within psychological or gothic spaces, Esser leans deeply into the 70’s-80’s filmic space of puppetry oriented body horror and religious trauma (à la The Fly or The Exorcist) in a way that shines on PIP’s sleek indie stage.
Revolution Remixed | Camerata
One of the many reasons to see live music, of any kind, if the to marvel at the artistry and skill of the performers. A definite highlight of the Camerata Revolution Remixed performance was to watch the interactions between the artists, and to see how the musicians bring the composers’ works to life.
Busking in Glory | Merilee Ettia
The 45 minute bold show relied on raw vocal power and sharp narrative wit to hold the spotlight under the Brisbane night sky. Ettia sang her lungs out over background song tracks, but there was serious technique behind the volume- her singing voice was incredibly powerful, beautiful and clearly well trained.
Eat Slay Zombie | La Boite Theatre
Don’t let the title or the zombie masks fool you – this is far from a typical horror-comedy. McGrady brilliantly channels the chaotic framework of a zombie outbreak as a sharp, clever metaphor to deliver a powerful message about colonisation and First Nations survival in contemporary Australia.
The Female of the Species | Cut & Run Productions
The Female of the Species is wry comedy excellence, and everyone onstage is at the top of their game for the full runtime. Smart, funny, political, and with a running gag about the soothing power of soup, I really urge everyone to check out The Female of the Species while they can. It's the type of show that I think Magandjin could use more of, and I hope that Cut & Run continues on the winning path they have set for themselves.
Thank God You’re Queer | Second Beat Productions & Big Fork Theatre
Thank God You’re Queer is a delightfully gay spin on the classic Channel 10 improv show. Thank God You’re Here. Four heterosexual comedians, supported by an entirely queer cast of improvisers, find themselves in scenes inspired by real audience questions and experiences (sourced via QR code in the line to the show), all competing for the title of Brisbane’s Best Ally.
BrisAsia Comedy Gala
The BrisAsia Comedy Gala, for the most part, served hot curry with white ignorance like rice and tiger balm, peppered with sprinkle of relatives arguing in the kitchen. Overall, I laughed lots, thanks to the routines being funny and relatable for everyone.
Deal With It! | Hanson Creative
Halfway between Rosemary’s Baby and a screwball comedy, Deal With It! is an odd play. Following couple Alix and Max as they investigate roommate Bridget’s comings and goings, the play strikes a horror-comedy tone that, while a welcome change of pace from Magandjin’s usual dramatic fare, left me wanting more.