Anywhere Festival Is Back for 2022 with 500-Plus Shows in Bars, Paint Factories and on Jetties

Usually, you don't go to someone's house to see a live theatre show. You don't normally go to an underground reservoir, head to a church, wander around an old paint factory, pop into a plant nursery or sit on a jetty, either. But, as its name suggests, performances can happen in plenty of places at the Anywhere Festival. Indeed, bars, restaurants, sports clubs, cafes, universities, laneways and shops are some of the more ordinary locations.

From Thursday, May 5–Sunday, May 22, this huge fest takes over Brisbane — after kicking off on the Sunshine Coast since Friday, April 29, and later heading to the Moreton Bay region from Saturday, May 14–Sunday, June 5. That means that you have plenty of places to visit in more ways than one, whether you're eager to make the most of the fest's Brissie season or head north.

If you're new to Anywhere Festival, the key part really is all there in its moniker — and this year, for the Brisbane run, that means 60 productions putting on more than 500 shows during the event. It also means turning any space possible into an arts space, including backyards, World War II aircraft engine testing facilities and senate rooms. The one kind of spot you won't see an Anywhere Festival performance, however? A traditional theatre.

Bruce Heath

At its creative and makeshift venues around town, on the bill is everything from theatre, comedy, dance and cabaret to music, circus, spoken word and poetry. The 2022 fest kicks off with a big laneway party on Fish Lane, complete with pop-up performances — then spans cabaret under a 117-year-old church roof, French tunes and treats in a garden centre, and a show at the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium that's focused around the Northern Lights.

Also on the lineup: a series of intimate circus performances in parks in Moorooka, Morningside, Nudgee and at Northey Street City Farm; an escape room-style show in a cafe; a rendition of Little Shop of Horrors; a whodunnit delightfully called Murder at the Bowlo; and a 1920s-style murder-mystery that takes cues from Agatha Christie. Or, there's a roaming and immersive performance that turns that aforementioned paint factory into an intergalactic prison, plus sea shanties in the Spring Hill Reservoir.

Geoff Lawrence

"Performers really love bringing shows to life in these unique locations and audiences love the experience and the thrill of not quite knowing what they are going to get, so it's a win-win," explains Anywhere Festival Founder and Artistic Director Paul Osuch, if you're wondering how the event first came to life back in 2011 — and then became a key part of Brisbane's annual cultural calendar.

"The idea came about because I believe that performance and the arts should be central to our lives and not just something we go to a theatre for," Osuch continued. "By making it possible for performances to happen anywhere, many people realise that the arts can and should be anywhere and start seeing the local spots in a completely new light."

Anywhere Festival's Brisbane season runs from Thursday, May 5–Sunday, May 23 in spots all over the city. For more information or to book tickets, head to the fest's website.

Top image: Stuart Hirth.