An Evening with Those Folk | Lawrence Menard & Clare Quinn
They aren’t afraid to be honest and show their relationship on stage in a playful way, and I enjoyed the stories they told between each song while also sharing the meanings behind the music too. Those Folk manage to create songs that are deep, layered and explore multiple themes utilizing folk and incorporating other genres such as bluegrass and jazz.
"Theatre hasn’t always been inclusive for artists and audience of our age." Egan Sun-Bin on The Reaction Theory and creating works about the mid-20's experience
When it was first written, this was Zoey [Dawon]’s first real play and being a new writer in the industry and leaving her drama school, she was feeling so much pressure. That’s how we all feel right now. We want to make a name for ourselves and be a working artist but it’s tough and anxiety inducing and coming straight out of that pandemic, this anxiety is very real for us. It’s us right now. The actors and creatives are feeling scared about our future and in this play, you will see exactly that.
Death and The Maiden | Ad Astra
As an audience, we are left wondering right to the end of the play whether the man she has bound in her home is guilty of the crimes Paulina condemns him for or whether her trauma has shaped an elaborate narrative that allows her to punish the guilty and move on from her past.
Rumble presents The Pageant: Choose your champion and release your inner woo girl
"What I love is that this show fully leans into the chaos and encourages the contenders to fly by the seat of their pants, which is very entertaining for the audience because you never know what you're going to see! As a contender, it's equally exciting because you can only prepare so much going into it before the carry-on takes over. It feels like catching a wave and quickly realising you're surfing in a tsunami!"
Shelter | The Drawer Productions
Intricately woven, utterly impressive, and a crash-course in ancestral healing. Shelter deserves all the success it has had commercially and critically, as well as the success I am sure is coming in the near-future. I am so glad I was able to experience this work.
Grease | Musical Theatre Students, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
A massive cast of consummate performers tore down QPAC's Lyric theatre with a passionate, charming and energetic production of beloved musical Grease. The theatre was packed and the audience was buzzing, both from the excitement at seeing their loved ones dance and sing up a storm and the nostalgia of seeing the live version of the movie and megamix that we all knew so well. Or so we thought, because while the stage version of Grease is still the story of teen rebels and lost love, it isn't quite the version that we'd been raised on and the nostalgia of what I remembered from the movie didn’t match the reality of the story of Grease.
Shelter | The Drawer Productions
The lighting and sound was used really effectively to direct me and I really liked being pulled around the space by voices from another room, coloured flashes of light or a tv being turned on. On top of this, because there was so much to look at and dig through, as well as sometimes multiple scenes being done at once, you had a lot of power as an individual audience member to shape your view of the story.
Rhythmology | Tyson Goddard & Backbone
It’s 7pm and I don’t want to be late and as we arrive a few minutes past the hour and do the obligatory check-ins, we see the place is teeming with POC people, the familiar feel of Backbone Youth Arts reeks of that uniquely old ozzy bowlo vibe, but as we enter through the next room, the set slips into a shimmering pink backdrop, fully seated with fabulousness dripping, geometry in the ceiling, warm hues with lighting low, you can feel the vibration from the punters peaking with jittered excitement.
A Celebration of Amy Winehouse | Blue Arcadia Music & Fearless Singer Productions
Each performer brought a different flavour to each tune and told their own story through their vocals. They were complimented by the live band behind them, filled with a horn section, bass, drums, percussion, guitar and keys who captured the energy, melancholy and soul of Amy’s compositions.
"We didn’t have any role models or people that looked like us." Tyson Goddard on Rhythmology
“Sexuality is meant to be generous; people can forget it is, but we know it is and want to express this. Rhythmology is Unapologetic Sexuality! And rightfully so.”
Meanjin is Burning: Ella Ganza and the local Ballroom community on the upcoming Alexander Ball. "I want Meanjin to be the capital of Ballroom in Australia."
Ballroom and the Ball is everything that is fashion, that is high-energy. It is going to be that
event you never knew you needed until you go. You don’t have to be a Queer person, a Person of
Colour, or a Queer Person of Colour to appreciate Ballroom. Because what it also stands for individuality. We don’t want another so-and-so. We want you to be authentically you. That’s why for me Ballroom is that one place where you are guaranteed to be jaw-dropped. You’ll leave saying you never knew how much you needed it in your life.
Return to the Dirt | Queensland Theatre
This play is sheer genius. It’s bloody brilliant. What a marvellous piece of theatre. I gave the cast a standing ovation on their first curtain call and I stood clapping long after they’d left the stage. I hope everyone gets to see this, young and old.
"If you want to get acquainted with the independent art scene in Brisbane, this is a great place to do it" - Angela Peita and Lauren Hale on RuckusFest.
We've always really strongly believed that anybody can make art and in whatever realm, that everyone has an interesting story to tell. This festival is about giving people an opportunity to play with that, but also to meet other people that want to play with. You don't have to be good at it, you can just enjoy it and get involved with it. And the kind of natural outcome of that is you're hanging out with other people who are interested in those things, so you’re making communities.”
"I would have loved to have read these stories when I was young" - Virag Dombay
In each section there are at least two stories from the child’s perspective that links in with that particular emotion. And that was so important to me, because there are not really many books for young people available to consume about grief or despair that aren’t Disneyfied. And that’s important for adults to consume as well, that this child’s story is in the grief section, and that this kid experiences so much.
The David Bentley Trio | Restrung Festival
Led by Brisbane’s accomplished jazz/blues pianist and composer David Bentley and joined by Brisbane musicians Andrew Shaw (bass) and Nathan Goldman (drums), the trio played a number of jazz standards and original songs; all which left the audience gleefully tapping their feet.
The Brother’s Grimm Spectaculathon | Left of Right Theatre Company
The script was a hybrid form of a pantomime cross with a farce, featuring lots of audience interaction and sixty bold characters played by only six actors… it truly made you wonder how they were all not out of breath.
Maze | The Naughty Corner Collective
The actors used neon tube lighting to move around the space, giving shape to the maze and blocking Wray’s path as he approached dead ends. This was a very effective use of the small stage. Further, it made the labyrinth feel alive, almost like a character itself, with the lighting being the blood pumping through the veins of the tunnels.
Momentum | WOW (Women of the World) Australia
The series explored what the notion of ‘momentum’ means for the feminist movement and how it differs dependent on various intersectional feminisms. The three events – Women Who Dare, First Nations First, and The Making of Men – each opened up important conversations and placed a spotlight on feminist and other social issues.
One Night Only | Queen and Friend
It was mighty impressive how they seamlessly wove these stories without any preparation or insight and how the performers never seemed to lose momentum in their hour long run time. It’s one thing to do improv for ten minutes but to do it for sixty minutes non-stop is not an easy feat for the faint of heart. But faint of heart, these comedians were not.
Happy Go Wrong | Andi Snelling
The archetype of the angel, mythical creature, saviour or inner subconscious is portrayed by ‘ French Aviator’ on skates, provides the comedy against the anguish this show journeys in to help Andi to see the light.