Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett | Sheridan Harbridge & Sarah Goodes
Harbridge doesn’t so much play Chrissy as resurrect her. For two hours, the audience is made to feel the dangerous voltage between sex and fear, mockery and obedience, survival and self-destruction. Amplified is cabaret at its most alive: irreverent, haunting, and fiercely electric. Like Chrissy Amphlett herself, it demands we ask what rock really is—before it spits in our face and leaves us begging for more.
Wired Differently | Screech Arts & Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre
As we have come to expect from Screech Arts, Wired Differently is honest, direct, clever, entertaining, funny, authentic and courageous. Thanks to the support, talents and creativity of Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, Wired Differently is an inspiring and ultimately moving celebration of what it means to be alive.
Elements of Freestyle | ISH Dance Collective
Elements of Freestyle is the definition of defying gravity— a thrilling collision of dance, extreme sports, and classical music. Imagine raw power meeting refined artistry in a high-octane performance that shatters genre boundaries and challenges every expectation. From start to explosive finale, it held the audience spellbound. You can’t afford to look away. Simply put: Wow!
6 Degrees | Chimera Arts
Chimera Arts has created a bold new work that explores the ways in which our lives are often closely inter-connected, and the potential of that social network. The use of ‘100 metres of chunky yarn’ is a clever device to reinforce messages about connection, and about the unravelling of power, represented through the excellent set design, and in the ways in which the artists gradually tear down the barriers and emerge from underneath the pieces.
Icons Alive! | Access Arts and The Undercover Artist Festival
Icons Alive! is bold, demonstrative, expressive, warm, welcoming, emotional and downright brilliant. This multitalented and gifted cast of performers with disability excelled on every level in pushing boundaries, pushing buttons, but above all, pushing for change. Kudos to MC Karen Lee Roberts – her outrageously gorgeous costumes plus her ebullient onstage persona kept the adrenaline rush at full throttle.
Baleen Moondjan | Stephen Page
Page has surpassed my expectations – he is delving into new and more diverse forms of inspiration and creative expressions as can be seen in Baleen Moondjan that will keep the flames of wisdom, ceremony, tradition, culture burning even brighter.
TINA — A Tropical Love Story | Ben Graetz
TINA - A Tropical Love Story is a fun one-hour cabaret showcase of First Nations’ talent that spotlights the talents of Ben Graetz/Miss Ellaneous, and gives a platform for local and emerging artists; great frocks, charming stories, excellent lip sync and interpretation, and solid musical choices.
A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen (or How to Make the Perfect One-Pot Chicken Curry) | Joshua Hinton
A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen made for heartwarming theatre. Its soulful unfolding is a testimony to the transformative power of stories, especially the ones we relish and rely on for the sustenance of our selfhood.
The WOW Show: In Search of the Hope Brigade | WOW (Women of the World) Australia
Overall, WOW: Searching for the Hope Brigade was a well-structured, organised, and slickly-run show with a very famous host. It has such potential to be a true actionable starting point for many women who have felt the difficulties of systemic sexism and gender violence, and who need an accessible entry point to do more.
Afterglow 2025 | Brisbane Festival & Sony Music Australia
There was something moving about seeing these ideas expressed through so many different voices — all flickering together in the dark. I was drawn in by the warmth and meaning behind each lantern. Their gentle glow and emotive imagery created an atmosphere that felt cosy, reflective, and deeply human.
Phantastic Ferniture, supported by Juice Webster | Tivoli in the Round
More than just a concert series, the ‘in the round’ program continues a tradition of reimagining how live music is staged in Brisbane. It transforms a historic theatre into a circle of connection.
The Lovers | Shake & Stir Theatre Co
As a lover of both Shakespeare and musicals, I was thrilled to hear that Shake & Stir were bringing The Lovers—a contemporary musical reimagining of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream—to Brisbane. Remixing Shakespeare’s classic text with a high-energy pop score and a bold modern attitude, this new musical by Laura Murphy promises humour, romance, and magical spectacle in equal measure.
The Platypus | Soft Tread Enterprises
A black comedy tackling the complexities of family, relationships, housing, and child rearing, The Platypus utilises its genre-bending format to unpack our cultural biases and ask uncomfortable questions.
The Chronicles | Stephanie Lake Company
I could just sum up the experience of watching the latest Stephanie Lake Company work, The Chronicles, in one word: wow. But I feel that readers might just demand a few reasons as to why wow. In a mere 75 minutes, The Chronicles reminds us of the cycle of our lives: of the frenzied ‘running to stand still’ work, but also of the moments of beauty, tenderness, and connection… and the inevitability of our final breath.
Congratulations, Get Rich! | La Boite Theatre
‘Congratulations, Get Rich” reminded me of the value in hearing stories that come from a place of deep cultural specificity — stories that, regardless of your background, tap into shared experiences of love, loss, and connection. It’s rare to see something so intimate and culturally specific on stage, yet still feel so universal — and for me, that’s what made it clear how important it is to keep sharing diverse stories in theatre.
Milestone | William Yang
Yang was poised in his delivery and sparkling with wit. If he comes this way again, I will tell anyone who loves art, history, the celebration and exploration of queerness and Australiana to go see Milestone or its other iterations. This show is both art and heritage preservation, and a joy to watch.
BATSHIT | Leah Shelton
BATSHIT is, well, batshit. It’s a theatrical fever dream, giving a little burlesque, a little verbatim, a little mixed media, and a lot of comedy.
Tick, Tick … Boom! | Good Time Theatrics
You don’t have to be a musical theatre aficionado to enjoy this one. Set in the musical theatre world, Tick, Tick … Boom! reminds us all about the highs and lows of working out what we really want from life. Thanks to the hard work of Good Time Theatrics’ cast and creatives, Tick, Tick … Boom! is a funny and enjoyable evening at the theatre.
Gatsby at The Green Light | Caper & Crow
Gatsby at The Green Light invites audiences into a decadent world of 1920s glamour and 2020s spectacle. Brimming with classic Gatsby indulgence and theatrical excess, the show delivers a night of cabaret in a club named after the symbol of Gatsby’s elusive desire: The Green Light.
Back to Bilo | Belloo Creative
Back to Bilo’s painstaking efforts in amplifying the refugee story with so much attention to detail are praiseworthy. It is a necessary Australian story. One that needs to traverse terrains and timelines across the continent to the enduring hum of humanity.