Five Shows for Teens and young adults to check out at Brisfest this year!
For Brisvegas residents, Brisbane Festival is the most wonderful time of the year. It is a time when art is celebrated and rejuvenated. A time when theatregoers roam the streets; a glass of red wine in hand, hopping from one show to the next. If you have a teen that is itching to get into theatre or maybe you have a teen that’s never been exposed to theatre before, here are your must sees of this years season.
Sunshine Super Girl by Andrea James & Performing Lines
22-24 September | Playhouse, QPAC
Before Ash Barty lifted the trophy at Wimbledon, there was Evonne Goolagong. This landmark new Australian work is written and directed by Yorta Yorta / Gunaikurnai theatremaker Andrea James (Yanagai! Yanagai) and is a quintessentially Blak Australian story about a girl from the bush who dared to dream; Australia’s jewel Evonne Goolagong. A story about a youth growing up, what could resonate more with youth today who are finding themselves just as Goolagong was finding herself and her passions; albeit in circumstances that may have been different from our own.
What I’m most excited about is that the staff at QPAC have transformed the Playhouse Theatre into a ‘courtside seating’ in which a tiered bank of seating will be installed onstage facing out into the auditorium. Very curious to see how the director plays around with that.
Fourteen by shake & stir
Running from 27 Aug to 17 Sep 2022 | Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
shake & stir theatre co, one of Australia's leading contemporary theatre companies is debuting their new work Fourteen at Brisbane Festival this year, an adaptation of award-winning journalist Shannon Molloy's memoir about growing up gay in central Queensland. I recently did an interview with two of the actors – Helen Cassidy and Karen Crone – who both said that the play is a story of believing in yourself and overcoming adversity and is a positive light for young people who have experienced bullying and are struggling to find their place in our world.
Guttered by Restless Theatre
11-18 September | Kingpin Chermside Bowling Alley
When did you last go bowling? Maybe you're a little rusty? Perhaps a beginner? I don’t know about you guys, but that tagline does it for me. Presented by Adelaide’s unique, multi award-winning company Restless Dance Theatre, Guttered examines this idea of ‘help’ people with disability encounter all too often through the questioning of the use gutter guards and ramps in a bowling alley and whether or not they prevent us from hitting the bowling pins or the opposite. And, it’s even set at a bowling alley. Theatre and bowling, what a great way to entire your teen.
Warning: This show will have optional audience interaction.
The House by The House of Alexander
13-15 September | Southbank Piazza
This September, Meanjin's trailblazing ballroom house, The House of Alexander, returns to the The Brisbane Festival with their latest work and first mainstage production, The House.
The House journeys through time and space weaving together ancestral knowledge from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations, the opulent nations of Southeast Asia, and to the archipelagos of the Pacific, back to the queer liberation of the underground ballroom scene in Harlem, New York. Fusing traditional cultural dances, sounds across the oceans and the highly stylised art form of voguing; teens will be able to voyage through culture and cultural expression like never before; dancing in their seats in the process. The show has been produced in collaboration with Natano Fa’anana from Casus Creations, who created the crowd favourite from the 2021 Brisbane Festival, Auntie’s Fiafia Night.
Nightwalks with Teenagers by Mammalian Diving Reflex
15-17 September | King George Square, Brisbane
Presented by Mammalian Diving Reflex (Canada) and Darren O'Donnell, Nightwalks with Teenagers is a walking performance created with local young people who plan, design and lead the walks through the city at night. In this immersive experience, youth will be your guides as you rediscover everyday streets and see the world anew through the eyes of young people; challenging our pre-existing perceptions of young people. I love love this initiative and this project blurb. There’s nothing I love more than putting youth at the centre and encouraging youth stories. Get your tickets for this one soon, as it will sell out.
There you have it, five shows to take your teens to. But, you can also take yourself to see them. I know I will. I might even see you there!
