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What’s On Guide May '17 Arts Reviews PROFILE QUEENSLAND CABARET FESTIVAL 2017 Ready to Set Stages Alight! What's Best in Brisbane! Brisbane Entertainment Centre 29 June - 2 July PROFILE Front Cover Image: Paul Kelly and Camille O’Sullivan (star in Ancient Rain on 13 June at QPAC) PAGE 3 Queensland Cabaret Festival 2017 1–15 JUNE 2017 Brisbane Powerhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and Queensland Multicultural Centre and taken over performance spaces across the world, offering intimate, heartfelt performances, soulful recitals and comical narratives. Festival Founder Alison St Ledger believes this raw genre of story-telling makes for a night of live entertainment as refreshing as it is compelling. “I am thrilled with the growth of the Queensland Cabaret Festival over the last four years, and with such an incredibly diverse range of acts this year, I’m confident we will attract new fans to the cabaret genre,” St Ledger said. “This Festival offers Brisbane audiences a truly unique opportunity to experience the enchanting world of cabaret first-hand.” Queensland Cabaret Festival 2017 invites you behind the red velvet curtain to discover the scintillating world of cabaret! QUEENSLAND CABARET FESTIVAL IS BACK! After three successful years, the Queensland Cabaret Festival is returning in 2017. This year boasts an impressive selection of international and Australian performers ready to set stages alight at Brisbane Powerhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and Queensland Multicultural Centre this June. This year’s Festival is brimming with internationally acclaimed talent including iconic Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly with Irish chanteuse Camille O’Sullivan; Grammy award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell; star of stage and screen Alan Cumming; The Cat Empire’s front man Felix Riebl; and the world-renowned Sierra Boggess on her debut Australian tour. Cabaret comes in many forms, but at its heart, it is a form of storytelling. It can be stunningly beautiful as well as thrilling and hilarious. It’s an ever-changing evolution of ideas and performances, a mix of music, song, dance, comedy and movement. Many think of cabaret as an evening stroll down a Paris cobblestone street, falling into a small wine bar and listing to Edith Piaf covers. However, it is so much more. Originating in the city of love, it has evolved MAY 2017 WHAT’S ON GUIDE The Pearlfishers Lyric Theatre, QPAC When: 25 May – 3 June Telephone 136 246 operaq.com.au OperaQ serves up a star cast and high drama in Bizet’s soul-stirring tale. Australia’s prima diva Emma Matthews will thrill Brisbane audiences when she graces the stage of the Lyric Theatre, QPAC in Bizet’s classic opera The Pearlfishers, presented by Opera Queensland. The multi award-winning soprano reprises the role of Léïla, after critically acclaimed performances in the Opera Australia and PAGE 4 West Australian Opera seasons of the production. Ms Matthews has received more Helpmann Awards than any other individual artist, nine Green Room Awards, the Mo Award, the Remy Martin Australian Opera Award, and was recently named Limelight Magazine’s Australian Artist of the Year for 2016. She’s joined by tenor Aldo Di Toro, bass Andrew Collis, and London-based Australian baritone Grant Doyle in his OperaQ debut, directed by Michael Gow, with award winning designs by Robert Kemp and Matt Scott, supported by The Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Opera Queensland Chorus, conducted by Graham Abbott. OperaQ Artistic Director Lindy Hume believes the beautiful and exotic grand opera will be a joy for opera lovers and soon-to-be opera lovers alike. CREATIVE TEAM Director Michael Gow Conductor Graham Abbott Set & Costume Designer Robert Kemp Lighting Designer Matthew Scott Chorus Director Narelle French Assistant Director Rachael Edwards CAST Léïla Emma Matthews Nadir Aldo Di Toro Zurga Grant Doyle Nourabad Andrew Collis Opera Queensland Chorus Queensland Symphony Orchestra WHAT’S ON GUIDE MAY 2017 Image: Jeff Busby Melbourne International Comedy Roadshow Wed 10 – Sat 13 May, 2017 Brisbane Powerhouse brisbanepowerhouse.org Buckle up Australia! The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow is back on the bus, hitting the road to home deliver the freshest and funniest from Australia’s largest comedy festival! With an all-killer, no-filler cast of Australian stars, talented MAY 2017 WHAT’S ON GUIDE newcomers and international performers we’ve got all your comedy bases covered. Featuring Dave Callan, Carl Donnelly (UK), Andy Saunders, Daniel Fernandes (India) and Sharul Channa (Singapore), the roadshow has everything from stand-up to sketch, slapstick to song. The line-up presents the best of the Festival in one hilarious show. Don’t miss your chance to join the laughs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. Get on board, grab your mates and get giggling as the ultimate comedy roadtrip rolls into town! PAGE 5 Avenue Q 6–27 May Tickets $44/ $54 meet and greet Bookings online at artstheatre.com.au From the makers of The Book of Mormon, a politically incorrect musical comedy with a cast of quirky puppets and a few humans for good measure. If you don’t know about this seemingly cute, family puppet musical, the first thing we’ll say is DON’T BRING YOUR KIDS! When Cameron Macintosh, the world’s most successful musical producer, announced that Avenue Q, the Tony Award-winning PAGE 6 puppet musical would be closing its three-year run at the Noel Coward Theatre in London, there was a stampede at the box office. This is a more grown-up version of those loveable Sesame Street muppets who dance, sing, fight and (wait for it) have sex – on stage. Facing unemployment, relationship problems and addictions, these muppets will make sure you never look at Sesame Street quite the same way again. “Avenue Q is always a huge hit with Brisbane audiences. After completing our second sell-out season last year, we had a waiting list of hundreds of people who missed out, so the audience has spoken and we are back again!”– John Boyce, Artistic Director ‘The musical of the decade’ – Sunday Times ‘Witty, catchy and darn charming – Evening Standard WHAT’S ON GUIDE MAY 2017 Natalie Weir's Behind Closed Doors Presented by Expressions Dance Company and Queensland Performing Arts Centre 19–27 May 2017 Playhouse, QPAC Unleash your inner voyeur with this scintillating peek through a hotel room door. In this brand new work from Expressions Dance Company's Artistic Director and choreographer, Natalie Weir, Behind Closed Doors draws you into a hotel, where the private MAY 2017 WHAT’S ON GUIDE lives of its late night guests and staff are exposed. Showcasing breathtakingly beautiful and athletic dance by the exceptional Expressions Dance Company, this poetic kiss-and-tell reveals the darkness, playfulness and fragility of human nature. Behind Closed Doors features seductive jazz performed live on stage by Queensland jazz trio, Trichotomy, with special guests, vocalist Kristin Berardi and saxophonist Rafael Karlen. Book tickets now at qpac.com.au or call 136 246 TRAINING PARTNER Expressions Dance Company acknowledges the assistance of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. PAGE 7 The Village A La Boite and MDA Ltd Production 15–26 May, 2017 La Boite Theatre Company laboite.com.au/the-village Ordinary people in extraordinary situations. The Village showcases the cultural diversity of Australia and honours the courage, strength and determination of the women, men and children who have made this country their new home. The Village uses the verbatim stories of refugees and people seeking asylum to guide audiences on an experiential journey. Witness how ordinary people have found themselves in extraordinary situations PAGE 8 and persevered to tell their life-changing stories. Audiences will engage with these stories first hand through an interactive performance experience. The Village has been created specifically with secondary students in mind, but everyone is welcome at The Village to enjoy this collaborative theatre project. “It felt really real, authentic. Being immersed into it, you can appreciate the stories more and actually feel part of that journey.” Teacher WHAT’S ON GUIDE MAY 2017 Freedom Then, Freedom Now 5 May – 1 October 2017 State Library of Queensland slq.qld.gov.au/freedom Question the notion of freedom, reflect on our collective past, and explore civil rights in State Library of Queensland’s (SLQ) exhibition, Freedom Then, Freedom Now. The exhibition draws on SLQ’s historical collections to explore the freedoms enjoyed and restricted in Queensland, and examine what happens when individual rights intersect with collective good. Freedom Then, Freedom Now MAY 2017 WHAT’S ON GUIDE takes a uniquely Queensland look at freedoms won and lost in the state since the 1950s across a number of themes including censorship, marriage, citizenship, dress and travel. Queensland has been an epicentre of some major advances and hindrances to personal liberties – from Eddie Mabo’s Native Title victory in 1992 to the anti-consorting laws and pink jumpsuits introduced in 2013 – and the exhibition offer Queenslanders the opportunity to learn more about both the historical facts and social context. Image: Second moratorium in Brisbane, 1970 Vietnam Moratorium, with banner, 1978, Glen O’Malley, John Oxley Library, SLQ PAGE 9 4MBS Festival of Classics Sun 28 May – Sun 18 Jun Brisbane and Sunshine Coast 4mbs.com.au The 24th annual 4MBS Festival of Classics focuses on The British Connection. The spectacular Festival opening on Sunday 28 May sees 300 musicians take to the stage to perform Holst’s The Planets in the grand Brisbane City Hall Auditorium. The beloved Piano Marathon closes the Festival on Sunday 18 June with five concerts featuring many of Brisbane’s most renowned pianists. Hear Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Beethoven’s Rule Britannia PAGE 10 Variations and music by Chopin, Mozart and more. In between, enjoy sublime performances by the Australian Piano Duo, Louise King (cello), Leslie Martin-Nightingale (soprano), the Festival String Quartet and others as they play music of Handel, Vaughan Williams, Gilbert & Sullivan and many more. The Festival also includes film screenings and free talks in local libraries. Experience moving classical music in full force, and up close and personal, with the most accomplished musicians Queensland has to offer. Buy tickets at 4mbs.com.au or (07) 3847 1717. Proudly supported by 4MBS Festival of Classics is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland WHAT’S ON GUIDE MAY 2017 Shirley Valentine The original desperate housewife Tue 13 June, 7.30pm Wed 14 June, 11am & 7.30pm Gardens Theatre, QUT Gardens Point gardenstheatre.qut.edu.au Shirley Valentine is a funny and heart-warming one-woman play by the award-winning Willy Russell, starring the effervescent Mandi Lodge (Menopause the Musical; Always … Patsy Cline). MAY 2017 WHAT’S ON GUIDE As a middle-aged working class Liverpool housewife, Shirley can't shake the feeling her life has stagnated. On the wrong side of 40 with a stale marriage and a battered self-esteem, she wistfully yearns for something more. When her best friend wins an all-expenses-paid trip-of-alifetime to Greece, Shirley realises it's the escape she’s been looking for. She packs her bags and heads for freedom, leaving a note on the kitchen cupboard, “Gone to Greece. Back in two weeks!”. Under the warmth of the Mediterranean sun and liberated from her identity as 'just a wife and mother', Shirley rediscovers her feisty former self, re-igniting a flame of happiness she long thought extinguished. Presented by HIT Productions PAGE 11 Image: CHRISfotographik PAGE 12 Sweet Night Music August 11 – 27 The Spring Hill Reservoir ticketmaster.com.au Underground Opera’s 10 year celebrations continue with August’s West End to Broadway – In the Reservoir VOLUME FOUR! Enjoy a concert of show stoppers, filling Brisbane’s Underground Opera House, the historic 150-year-old Spring Hill Reservoir, six metres below Wickham Terrace, with uplifting, intriguing and sensational musical theatre tunes, delivered by world class performers. Laugh, cry and cheer with UOC this August! www.undergroundopera.com.au West End to Broadway: VOLUME 4 with Queensland Symphony Orchestra Sun 25 Jun, 11.30am Concert Hall, QPAC qso.com.au Take a nocturnal stroll through music of the night with Queensland Symphony Orchestra and jovial host Guy Noble. The powerfully evocative program includes arias from Mozart’s famous (and furious) Queen of the Night, excerpts from Sondheim’s playful musical A Little Night Music, Dvořák’s quiet Nocturne and Debussy’s masterwork imbued with French colours of the night. The evening will also star stunning sopranos Rachel Pines and Morgan England-Jones. Swallow Creative Brisbane Website PAGE 13 creativebrisbane.com.au Want to keep abreast with the latest in arts and entertainment news in Brisbane? Our newly launched website is packed with creative events including: musicals, theatre, cabaret, art, comedy, performance, events for kids, conferences and much more. This gives you a central hub to find out what's on. So whether you are looking for a way to keep the kids away from their dreaded screens during public holidays, or keeping out of town visitors entertained – you can find out what's best in Brisbane. Give creativebrisbane.com.au a whirl today! MAY 2017 WHAT’S ON GUIDE By Stef Smith Co-Presented by e.g. & Metro Arts: Metro Arts 109 Edward Street metroarts.com.au Tel 07 3002 7100 Three strangers cross paths. Rebecca has broken up, is breaking down and has slashed her face. Sam’s exploring a new identity in an unfamiliar world and Anna has not left her apartment for two years. Each one is poised precariously on the tipping point. Will they overcome their urge to self-destruct? “There are so many reasons to love this piece from Stef Smith.” The Independent “An elegant and glowing piece of 21st century magic realism.” The Scotsman WHAT’S ON GUIDE MAY 2017 Powerhouse Double Bill: He Dreamed a Train Eve Force of Circumstance and Nest Ensemble in partnership with Brisbane Powerhouse 29 June – 16 July Brisbane Powerhouse Tickets 07 3358 8600 or visit brisbanepowerhouse.org.au PAGE 14 Suitable tor ages 10+ He Dreamed a Train “It’s a completely fresh kind of theatrical experience.” Courier Mail The critically acclaimed He Dreamed a Train returns to Brisbane Powerhouse with multi-award winning artist Margi Brown Ash and accomplished director Benjamin Knapton. Combining stunning digital projection and compelling storytelling this show is "a triumph of its kind” Daily Review. A family’s joys and challenges are revealed in this special show. Suitable tor ages 10+ Eve “Every aspect of Eve is a refined sensory experience …“ Australian Stage Brisbane’s own doyen of theatre, Margi Brown Ash, crawls beneath the skin of Australia’s Virginia Woolf: the enigmatic Eve Langley. Directed by Leah Mercer, Eve is the fictional story of a writer caught somewhere between the domestic and the artistic; a story of a reluctant mother and passionate artist; a story for anyone who’s ever felt as if they never belonged. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, and proudly supported by Brisbane City Council. Generous support has also been received from Metro Arts Theatre, Blue Room Theatre, PlayLab and Curtin University. WHAT’S ON GUIDE MAY 2017