Dangerous Goods | Polytoxic
If you want to see a subversively hot, femme-fuelled show full of hot babes smashing the patriarchy, go see Dangerous Goods at QPAC. It’s one of the best shows I have seen. Bonus is, there'll be various guest artists throughout this season so no two shows will be the same. You’ve got another three weeks to see this unmissable show.
Cirque Jingle | JACs Entertainment
There are a lot of great choices for a festive-themed show this season, including shows that have returned for many years. It’s great to see that JACs Entertainment has produced a show that complements those choices, offering an event that is suitable for the whole family.
AWAKEN: Backbone Festival 2023: “Where the arts come alive, and dreams take flight.”
Often as artists, we hear ‘No’ so often that we start bending and breaking our artistic practice to fit someone else’s limits. Our Young and Emerging Artists present unique and exciting works that haven’t been limited by anyones ‘No’.
Duck Pond | Circa
If you enjoy seeing circus performances, you’ll enjoy this show. The cast do a wonderful job and display a wide range of fabulous skills. It won’t be a production that leaves a life-changing impression on you, but you will enjoy it even if you leave somewhat confused by the overall narrative. If, like me, you go in as an audience member with a critical eye for circus and dance productions and with a knowledge of the classical greats however, you may leave somewhat disappointed and confused.
Common Dissonance | Na Djinang Circus
Under the purposeful glare of the spotlight, the sight of two bodies cocooned in a tight embrace appeared before us. I saw their fingers endeavouring to make imprints on the skin of the other, pressing and digging into soft tissue. As they pushed themselves into each other while trying to simultaneously pry and peel themselves off the other, I gathered that the uneasy, uncomfortable yoking of their physical beings underscored the theme of common dissonance deliberately right from the get-go.
Break | Cecilia Martin & The Farm
Highlights were the directness and vulnerability with which the story was told, and the interweaving of acrobatic skills. We hear insights into the close relationship between skilled performers—including the sheer joy of ‘getting it right,’ as well as the pain and pressure of training, travel, and surgeries, and we see great use of the spinning plates, walking on broken china, incredible athleticism (and skipping), and quite amazing trapeze and aerial acrobatics.
Tipsy History | Glitter Martini & Anywhere Festival
One thing I love about the Glitter Martini shows I’ve seen is they’re always audience participation heavy, which is great to keep the crowd entertained at changeovers between the acts. A particular crowd favourite this time was a modern spin on an Ancient Greek drinking game, which everyone got right into, and it really brought out their competitiveness. These interactive segments made the show intimate and that little more special and memorable for everyone.
From Little Things | Casus Creations and Flipside Circus
I went to this show expecting a fun show that has that fuzzy feeling of community, but I got a lot more than that. It’s a beautiful creation, with artistry and skill that sometimes made me forget how young many of these performers were. Their opening season has been a sell-out, and I hope they bring this show back, so more people can see this delightful piece of art and circus culture.
Blush | Highwire Entertainment
This isn't one of the typical cabarets that tries to sell sexy as performers brushing past each other, femme figures as objects and same-sex desire as queer baiting. Blush makes the titillation of such shows seem like childhood flights of fancy. There is something truly for everyone here, with each performance celebrating love, lust, passion and desire in various forms.
In Your Dreams | Polytoxic
It is not often that I get the first line of my review handed to me during a performance. According to Polytoxic, my review should start with “five stars and checking [my] privilege”. We don’t do star ratings at Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane, but I’ll happily make an exception for Polytoxic’s new work, In Your Dreams. This show promises a line-up of glass-ceiling smashing, system dismantling, genderqueer, fiercely intersectional artists, and delivers spectacularly on this promise.
GODZ | Head First Acrobats
Having an all-male cast of physically fit circus artists and calling your show GODZ could easily be the set-up of something quite cringy; but I was delighted to have that option cast aside from the moment the show began. Lights shone down on Apollo, Cupid, Dionysus, and Hercules, starting the show with some very skilled and very silly group acrobatics. The team of godly larrikins from Head First Acrobats then treated the audience to a fast-paced and hilarious hour of Greek mythology inspired hijinks where nothing was sacred.
"It’s been (another) difficult year, and we all deserve a Happy Hour." Darcie Rae on the escapist joy of Glitter Martini's latest show
I have spent a fair bit of time thinking about capital A “Art” over the last couple of years, and the line between art and entertainment. I’ve landed on joy as being a perfectly acceptable reason for something to exist, and this show is a celebration of that. Also all the acts are themed around happy hour beverages.
Blanc de Blanc Encore
Blanc de Blanc Encore delivers a high-paced 100+ minutes of variety-style entertainment, ranging from song, dance and European-style clowning, through to foot-juggling, Chinese pole and aerials. Be ready for a quick and entertaining ride.
Carnival of Animals | CIRCA
Carnival of The Animals has been performed many times (almost 300) since its premiere in 2014, and for this season Circa redid and added sections of the show to include an ensemble of local children. These kids took part in group acrobatics with the Circa ensemble and with each other. It was a sweet addition that suited the show, and many of these kids clearly have a strong acrobatic foundation in which to grow into. It might be them in the professional Circa ensemble in a decade or so.
The Long Pigs | We3
I strongly feel like dark humour such as this plays an important role in fostering our resilience as humans. For this reason, the Long Pigs is a brilliant example of disruptive theatre and highlights for me the importance of the fool in creating social commentary through clowning. It was the perfect balance between dark and light.
Briefs: The Classics | Briefs Factory
As a shameless Briefs groupie, I’d seen all the acts before, but that didn’t matter in the slightest. All the performers know how to work the crowd and respond to the audience’s energy, camping up acts and whipping us into a frenzied applause at the drop of a hat. And of course, Shivannah kept the show moving at a high pace with her winning commentary and stunning outfits sourced from op shops around the world.
Club Culture Cabaret | Briefs Factory
At night, the Brisbane Powerhouse is a towering structure. When awash in a coloured glow, the industrial legacies of its brick exterior are exposed and amplified. Standing tall, it looms above the heads of those swallowed by its glass doors. Yet on Sunday night, with Fez Fa’anana (as Shivannah) sauntering amongst arriving audiences and flashing smiles over diamantéd shoulders, the building had never felt so warm.
Diva Dive | Finucane and Smith
This is a variety show with a travelling circus feel to it, its numerous stunning acts from around the world sewn together by MC Moira, some kind of vampiric love goddess. She carried us through a host of dazzling dances, spine-tinglingly beautiful singing, trapeze, burlesque, boylesque, physical comedy and all manner of gender-defying feats.
Casting Off | A Good Catch
If you have ever eaten miso on toast, tofu and struggled to remember things, postulating dating and need to read the ethical slut or have wondered why church and state are not separate in parliament, or just a reminder that nothing’s off limits when a bunch of women are together. I want you all to see Casting Off. Don’t miss this show. It is absolutely without doubt, is a must see show and you will be left thinking about it for days after.
BRED | Briefs Factory
As impressive as the physical elements were, some of the more powerful moments were the dialogue parts. Emily delivers a powerful spoken word poem that had everyone in the room listening and Luke Hubbard stole the show for me in a closing performance that delved into the ongoing racism in the Australian police force and Indigenous deaths in custody, something that resonated with me deeply.