Overview
Brisbanites, prepare to spend September immersed in arts, entertainment and culture. Other than fireworks, that's what the city's annual Brisbane Festival always brings, but this year is bigger than ever.
Under new artistic director David Berthold, the festival will host a whopping 456 shows. For an event that runs for just three weeks from September 5 to 26, that's quite a significant number — and it also boasts seven world and 13 Australian premieres, including four new works specifically commissioned for the festival. You won't be able to say you don't have anything to do that month.
In fact, whether dance, theatre, circus, cabaret, opera, hip hop, film or visual arts piques your interest, there's something in the program for you. The same goes for topics and countries, with Berthold contemplating everything from politics to sexuality to violence, and spanning everywhere from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Singapore, as well as touching upon homegrown stories and issues, too.
The jam-packed slate includes a South African retelling of Macbeth, an all-male version of The Importance of Being Earnest, a take on Shakespeare’s Richard II inspired in part by the Rudd/Gillard years, and a documentary theatre production looking at the 2004 death of Mulrunji Doomadgee while in police custody. Flexn already looks like a standout, musing on the state of race relations in America in a piece that's part protest, part dance party, part collective autobiography.
Music-wise, Martha Wainwright joins a group of local artists paying tribute to the brilliant yet complicated lives of rock legends Tim and Jeff Buckley, while Bernard Fanning and Katie Noonan join forces with Tim Winton and Jessica Watson for a multimedia celebration of the Great Barrier Reef. The beloved Spiegeltent returns, of course, complete with a busy program that includes Megan Washington and Spanish surf rock band Los Coronas, among others.
Because more movies is never a bad thing, cinephiles can also join in the fun. Backyard Cinema turns homes across the city into a film festival, live-streaming a yet-to-be-selected movie for everyone to enjoy. For those keen on venturing to an actual cinema, The Female Gaze collates a collection of indie female-focused features that explore the nuances of film through female eyes.
Of course, it wouldn't be Brisbane Festival a bright, free, public display of colourful, flashing illuminations. That comes in the form of Treasury Lights, from the folks behind Vivid Sydney — so you know it is going to be something special and entirely Instagramable.
Apart from seeing as many shows and staring at as many pretty lights as you possibly can, a huge part of Brisbane Festival is soaking up the atmosphere. The event knows this, which is why a new festival village is also part of the 2015 lineup. A space named Arcadia will take over South Bank, occupying a site five times the size of previous years, and featuring two performance tents, four bars, food options, games, 3D chalk installations and more. For three weeks only, think of it as the ultimate hangout spot.
Brisbane Festival runs from September 5 – 26 across Brisbane. For more the full 2015 program, or to book tickets, visit the festival website.