Overview
It’s all in the name: shows in Anywhere Theatre Festival can take place wherever strikes their creators' fancy throughout Brisbane, be it a suburban hairdressing salon, an inner city street corner or an ordinary home.
In the festival’s fourth year of encouraging sustainable modes of delivering performances to audiences and eschewing the usual restrictions facing theatre professionals, it stays true to its stated purpose with a fresh program of 67 productions at 47 locations. Here are our picks of the top ten things you should see and the strange spots to see them.
Red Cordial Love
One of the standouts of the 2013 2high Festival, Red Cordial Love returns to Brisbane for another season of retro music fun. Embracing all the trimmings of a 1990s dance party, the interactive performance transforms nostalgia into a time-warped night of old pop songs and bad fashion. Inspired by their own teen diaries, creators Emmaly Langridge and Brodie Peace tap into fond memories of years gone by. How much you interact is up to you — play along, or just watch and enjoy the show. The cost of the ticket includes '90s makeup and lolly tuckshop bag.
May 7-11, 7.30pm at Fish Lane Studio, The Fox Hotel. Tickets $25/$22
Up Late with Scott Wings (and Friends)
To the crowded comedic landscape of late-night variety entertainment comes Brisbane’s very own contender: Up Late with Scott Wings (and Friends). In what's billed as the city’s newest — and only — late-night show, poet-comedian Scott Sneddon (aka Scott Wings) harnesses his inner TV host after the success of his 2013 show MaXimal. Local performers and artists tag along for a performance described as “kind of like Rove but not as wholesome, and kind of like Jimmy Fallon except the host can’t dance.”
May 9 and 16, 10pm at SBH Pop-Up, Story Bridge Hotel. Tickets $22/$18.
Pre-drinks
When is a performance not just a performance? When it rolls the refreshing beverage you enjoy before the action, the cathartic cocktail you consume as a nightcap, and the main show all into one. Rocket Boy Ensemble creates an event to be watched as well as experienced, stepping through the milestones — and the confessions and drinking games — essential to any big night out.
May 8-17, 8pm at Artslink Queensland. Tickets $18.
HolePunch
A hit at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, HolePunch sees twenty-something creatives Violet & Veruca delve into the inner workings of the modern workplace — one item of stationery at a time. Part circus, part cabaret,and ideally all comedy, HolePunch promises to serve up pun-filled reflections on office life, including the cubicle and lunchroom antics all nine-to-fivers know and don’t quite love.
May 8-17, 6pm at SYC Studios. Tickets $20.
Sweet Meniscus
Ballet moves from the stage to a pool — and we’re not talking about synchronised swimming. Endeavouring to make a stylish splash, three dancers from the Queensland Ballet dip their toes into the water at the Spring Hill Baths in a work from choreographer Joseph Stewart. The mystery of the concept and the history of the venue make this show a very intriguing prospect.
May 16-18, 6pm and 8pm at Spring Hill Baths. Tickets $28/$17.
Little Boxes
These little boxes aren’t on the hillside, and they’re not all just the same — instead, sets made from industrial cast-offs create a large-scale, 360-degree outdoor theatre at Northshore Hamilton. The show’s construction mimics an apartment building, relating tales of disparate lives and communal isolation inherent in densely populated urban areas. A different way of presenting a show might just trigger a different way of thinking about city living.
May 8-17, 8pm, at Beside-the-Shed, Northshore Hamilton. Tickets $24/19.
Plays Well With Others
Who says you need to leave the house to see a live performance? Not theatre maker Robbie O'Brien. In Plays Well With Others, O'Brien brings the show to you in a playdate for adults. Gather a group of eight, pick your theme and the right room in your home, and the rest is taken care of, turning a night out into a unique night in.
May 7-17, 7.30pm at your house. Tickets $20 (minimum bookings of eight).
Monster
If the idea of a cabaret horror show doesn’t immediately pique your interest, then maybe the structure of this performance will: the host, known only as ‘Madam’, shares stories designed to delight and disturb. In a show informed by the opinions and life experiences of the public, the combination of blood and glitter is in the service of exploring transgender perceptions. In its presentation, a love of scary movies seems a must; in its ideas, Monster asks for a willingness to peer beyond the ordinary.
May 7-11, 8pm at Blackwall. Tickets $18.
Turning Tricks
If you’ve ever fancied your skills with a rabbit and a hat, wondered how television psychics entice audiences, or questioned how all manner of supernatural entertainers make money, mentalist Sean Mergard and comedy magician Pete Booth might just have the answers. In an expanded version of their sellout show from the 2013 Brisbane Fringe Festival, Turning Tricks navigates the patter and promises of a profession more associated with scams than skills.
May 8-11, 7.30pm at the Warehouse. Tickets $20.
A library for the end of the world
Amidst all the pondering of catastrophic and dystopian futures in the arts, how would the narratives and memories of ordinary lives be saved? In a solo performance that sees participants guided to a secret location and then left to add and explore a database of recollections, a library for the end of the world creates a communal catalogue meant to stand the test of time — all on cassette tapes, of course.
May 7-17, 30-minute slots from 5pm to 9.30pm at a secret location. Meet under the sculpture at the intersection of
Boundary, Melbourne and Mollison Streets, West End. Tickets $15.
The Anywhere Theatre Festival is on from May 7-18 all around town. For the full program, visit the festival website.