Dangerous Goods | Polytoxic
review, cabaret Harmonie Downes review, cabaret Harmonie Downes

Dangerous Goods | Polytoxic

If you want to see a subversively hot, femme-fuelled show full of hot babes smashing the patriarchy, go see Dangerous Goods at QPAC. It’s one of the best shows I have seen. Bonus is, there'll be various guest artists throughout this season so no two shows will be the same. You’ve got another three weeks to see this unmissable show.

Read More
Bumhole Brunch | Gogo Bumhole, Adrian te Veluwe and The Burrow
review, cabaret Ads J review, cabaret Ads J

Bumhole Brunch | Gogo Bumhole, Adrian te Veluwe and The Burrow

On the first Sunday morning of every month at The Burrow in West End rising drag star (or drag gremlin as they’d like to call themself) GoGo Bumhole brings the drag brunch back its underground, community roots. Backed by a cavalcade of Meanjin’s finest cabaret performers, it’s an infectious morning of drinks, feasting, entertainment and dare I say community that’s bound to become a sold-out staple for those in the know.

Read More
Rough, Red and Raw | Architects of Sound
review, cabaret Kristy Stanfield review, cabaret Kristy Stanfield

Rough, Red and Raw | Architects of Sound

As architects of sound, they’re far more important, far more conceptually insightful and artistically refined, percipient guardians of the zeitgeist. They are a whole new level of artiste, and we mere mortals cannot possibly comprehend their brilliance. With a certain vivacity, an ironic holier-than-thou attitude and so much lycra, the group expertly poke fun at influencer culture. In fact, I was just thinking to myself how brilliantly they embodied the wankiness so often found in the art world when they revealed the title of their latest album: “Art Fap”. Perfect.

Read More
Brisbaret at Queensland Cabaret Festival
review, cabaret Catherine Lawrence review, cabaret Catherine Lawrence

Brisbaret at Queensland Cabaret Festival

I can see why Brisbaret is a popular feature in the Brisbane arts scene, as a firmly local platform for a wide variety of music, comedy, drag, and cabaret artists. Variety is a tried and tested format—at its finest when hosted by talented MC’s, who program an eclectic collection of invited artists and keep the evening on track.

Read More
The Wharf Revue: Looking for Albanese | Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott
review, cabaret Harmonie Downes review, cabaret Harmonie Downes

The Wharf Revue: Looking for Albanese | Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott

The Wharf Revue is an irreverent adventure combining popular culture, cabaret and politics cleverly executed just as much as Scomo ruled the nation singlehandedly and got away with it till he didn’t. This show is just as ambitious as Clive Palmer spending $123 million to win one seat to open another iron ore mine. With such a huge field of contenders to choose from, this show delivers one punch line after the other, meticulously crafted to squeeze out every climate denying, debt defying, corrupted and lying gag possible.

Read More
"It shows how much views are changing on sexuality."  The cast of Blush on making a 'sexy adult circus' more subversive & inclusive
article, interview, circus, cabaret Ads J article, interview, circus, cabaret Ads J

"It shows how much views are changing on sexuality." The cast of Blush on making a 'sexy adult circus' more subversive & inclusive

Some of the reviews we received had a bit of a stab at the male nudity, but not the female nudity, because Australian audiences especially are very used to women being sexualized in that way…  And the success of the show sort of shows how much people are changing, like how much views are changing on sexuality.

Read More
Blush | Highwire Entertainment
review, circus, cabaret Ads J review, circus, cabaret Ads J

Blush | Highwire Entertainment

This isn't one of the typical cabarets that tries to sell sexy as performers brushing past each other, femme figures as objects and same-sex desire as queer baiting. Blush makes the titillation of such shows seem like childhood flights of fancy. There is something truly for everyone here, with each performance celebrating love, lust, passion and desire in various forms.

Read More
Babushka Regifted | Babushka
cabaret, review Gloriana Grace cabaret, review Gloriana Grace

Babushka Regifted | Babushka

Yet, underneath all the laughter, Babushka Regifted included a lot of great social commentary. They delved into love, despair, poverty, consent (sitting on Santa’s lap), and particularly feminism. Some memorable quotes include “a woman’s duty should not be stuck in kitchen”, “ovaries should not be stuck in the oven”, singing ‘We Three Queens’ instead of ‘We Three Kings’ following the Star, and singing from the ‘Hyrrs’ (Her) book instead of ‘Hymm’ (Him) book.

Read More
In Your Dreams | Polytoxic
review, fashion, cabaret, circus Darcie Rae review, fashion, cabaret, circus Darcie Rae

In Your Dreams | Polytoxic

It is not often that I get the first line of my review handed to me during a performance. According to Polytoxic, my review should start with “five stars and checking [my] privilege”. We don’t do star ratings at Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane, but I’ll happily make an exception for Polytoxic’s new work, In Your Dreams. This show promises a line-up of glass-ceiling smashing, system dismantling, genderqueer, fiercely intersectional artists, and delivers spectacularly on this promise.

Read More
Poncho: Keep It Up! | Dani Cabs
review, comedy, cabaret Claire Alcock review, comedy, cabaret Claire Alcock

Poncho: Keep It Up! | Dani Cabs

There’s an undercurrent of struggle in Poncho, of wrestling with shame, of being emotionally cauterised by a culture that punishes any deviation to the rigid, limiting forms of male connection and expression that patriarchy demands. But Cabs has an innate talent for balancing tension and levity, which he deployed masterfully during the piñata sequence towards the end. He brought many in the audience to tears (myself included), and then, moments later, had us laughing again.

Read More
The House | The House of Alexander
review, dance, cabaret, ballroom Ofa Fanaika review, dance, cabaret, ballroom Ofa Fanaika

The House | The House of Alexander

The House to me spoke to Pasifika and Asian communities and the need for the creation of contemporary rituals, spaces and practice. Culture is a living thing. We need to evolve with the time and the needs of our people. In The House their cultural pride is on their sleeves and smiles, even from members who have been ousted by their families, still respectful of their roots. Work like this gives permission for all diaspora queer folk to know and believe that culture, gender and sexuality need not be mutually exclusive and can exist together in harmony, even in excellence.

Read More
Sweatshop | Briefs Factory
review, circus, cabaret Darcie Rae review, circus, cabaret Darcie Rae

Sweatshop | Briefs Factory

A lot of the joy of Sweatshop is how engaged the performers are with the audience. Requests for cheers are met with enthusiasm from a crowd that is on their side from the moment they step on stage. This is the magic of Briefs: a group of performers doing unconventional things, presenting brightly and boldly to a room of people who are 100% there for every moment of it.

Read More
Friends of Dorothy | Ghostlight Theatre Co.
cabaret, review Virag Dombay cabaret, review Virag Dombay

Friends of Dorothy | Ghostlight Theatre Co.

What I loved the most about the show wasn’t the musical performances; it was that it didn’t stray away from the dark, oppressive and heartbreaking aspects of queer history and of identifying as queer even in our contemporary society. After Farmer-Trickett shared a personal story about a queer friend they had lost to suicide, there was a minute of silence held to remember all of those from the queer community who are no longer with us, which was such a generous way to reflect.

Read More
7 Mortal Sins | Glitter Martini
circus, cabaret, review Kati Murphy circus, cabaret, review Kati Murphy

7 Mortal Sins | Glitter Martini

On a drizzly Saturday night, I found myself in a stunning church with steep gabled roof, stained glass windows and brickwork that is 119 years old, celebrating what it is to be mortal. And what better way to do it, than with an Atonement for our sins, Glitter Martini style? I’m talking a freestanding aerial rig center stage. Circus, burlesque, sideshow, and even a little magic. And seven sinfully good acts, administered by one very captivating master of Ceremonies, Priest Benedict.

Read More