Briefs Factory on The Art Boat | Briefs Factory & Cluster Arts
Images supplied by BrisFest
The Art Boat is back for Brisbane Festival in 2024, this time with a festival-long takeover from Brisbane legends Briefs Factory. Audiences enter the Art Boat, adorned with colourful inflatable tentacles (designed by Josh McIntosh), a Brisbane Festival pink catwalk stage and neon signage. The seating around the catwalk and on the balcony above felt intimate and more like a party than a sit-down show, the perfect setting for an evening of drag, circus, and dance.
As usual, Briefs Factory delivers polished and upbeat acts, charming hosting by Shivana (Fez Fa’anana), and fabulous costumes. The acts were cheeky, sexy, and camp, and well appreciated by the vocal audience. I definitely did not expect to see a Cyr wheel performance on a boat, and the amount of unique and technically difficult skills performer Rowan Thomas was able to execute in such a small space was truly impressive. You can catch Rowan throughout the season as one of the resident artists alongside King of Burlesque Captain Kidd and super slick dancer Brett Rosengreen, joined by an array of special guests each evening. On our cruise we saw high kicking drag from Serenity, Miss Burlesque Australia Diesel Darling, and the thematically appropriate Cocktapus…IYKYK.
The ages range of the attendees of the Art Boat were fairly diverse, leaning a little towards the older crowd on a Sunday early evening. With the casual nature of being on a boat with minimal tech, the friendliness of the performers and the glittery fun of drag and burlesque, this is the perfect show to take your older family member to who might like something that feels a little adventurous for them without feeling too in-your-face in terms of content or production. There’s plenty of audience participation attendees can opt into and the vibe for participants is welcoming and celebratory. It’s also great for a group of friends or date night, with moments between acts to chat, dance, or take advantage of the onboard bar while the DJ spins well known tunes. I attended an evening show that was a leave-your-kids-at-home experience, but they have 3pm matinees for younger audiences as well.
Briefs Factory on the Art Boat is super entertaining, very festival-y in its novelty, and by far the best boat trip I’ve had down the Maiwar (Brisbane River).
‘Briefs Factory - on The Art Boat’ sets sail every Thursday to Sunday during the 2024 Brisbane Festival until 21 September 2024. Sessions at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday are family friendly, while all other sessions are geared towards adult audiences.
