NONSTOP | Dots+Loops
The ebb and flow between classic and future sounds was so well balanced the similarities between the two became more apparent as the festival progressed. Almost as if we were guided through a showroom full of refurbished antiques and new things that had been aged so well, we could not tell the difference.
Die Hard: The Movie, The Play | Act React
It was really great to be part of the live audience. I enjoyed the laughter (including watching some audience members almost in tears, as they were laughing so hard)… and it was wonderful to spend a whole hour in 1988 (a world away from the challenges of 2021.
Leotard | Boyle & Waters
Gorgeous leotards adorn the walls of the set. Leotards with hand-sewn sequins, with tinsel wrapped into tutus, with spangles and silk and cheap organza and above all else, lycra. Leotards with contrasting spandex panels. Leotards which costs hundreds, and leotards that are worth pennies. Leotards you wished you had owned, then, and now.
Songs of Love & War | Opera Queensland & Chrysalis Projects
Opera is not the snooze-fest many think it to be. It possesses the same drama, romance, and impassioned violence of the modern soap or young-adult drama. Imagine a Riverdale musical episode but if the singing was superb and the show was well-written. If held regularly, intimate and more financially accessible events like this might help improve my generations’ perception of this delicious artform.
"We were looking for ways and spaces where all our different musical pursuits could coexist and combine…" Connor D’Netto on NONSTOP
It’s easy for people to assume certain types of music to exist in a certain place, presented in a certain way, and maybe even listened to by certain people. That’s so limiting on every level. It limits the kind of art artists feel comfortable (or are even allowed) to create; it limits whether people feel comfortable in certain spaces and therefore whether they are able to experience different kinds of art; it limits how people are able to come together, connect and interact.
Cirque Bon Bon | JACs Entertainment
Cirque Bon Bon does not hold back and offers a rich circus experience. It features a very talented crew of artists who perform the most iconic circus acts including acrobatic archery, aerials, juggling, hoop dance, unicycle, acrobatic skating, and roue cyr.
Locked In | Shock Therapy Productions
A masterclass in restraint, there is abundant space in this performance, with much unusual and interesting to muse upon. A highlight is the mixed stage vocabulary of acting, physical movement, dance and projection, creating a highly watchable storytelling mechanism.
Absolute Trash | Glitter Martini
Filthy by the Scissor Sisters plays and the acts roll out from side stage. The first few acts consist of beautiful women dressed in hazmat suits, a wheelie bin scene with a bin chicken, a gorgeous garbage bag dress, and burlesque skits all connected by the ever-present rubbish that lives all around us, that we keep continuing to create!
Maddie is the new Karen | Madeleine Border & Madeline Römcke
The pace of the show is dynamic. The exercise bike, the treadmill all relevant props in the wake of a life in the day of a typical white woman in her 20’s, privileged and living in the inner-city landscape. The muffin is eaten and referred to as part of what it means to bake consciously. I was hoping they might sit on it, but that’s another show.
The Unspoken Word is ‘Joe’ | The Reaction Theory
This production showcased some incredible young talent in Meanjin | Brisbane and was a true delight to watch. The script was clever, witty, and fast. Meanjin needs more theatre like this and every comedy I see following this will have a very high bar to live up to.
"It automatically places people in this space of physicality that builds trust." Vulcana Circus on elevating the voices of those less heard
In this interview, co-directors and facilitators Celia White (Vulcana Circus’ Artistic Director) and Michelle Grant-Iramu discuss the process of enabling and empowering a large ensemble of a recently acquainted cohort, the imperative for access to art-making for people with experiences of trauma, truth-telling with a view to elevate the ordinary and making it extraordinary, and how circus is a perfect vessel for transformative art-making.
The Most Spectacular Cake | You Me Three Clown Co
Obvious spoiler warning, the cake ends up all over the stage. We know it's going to happen. There's clowns, there's cake, there's plastic wrap on the floor, we know where it's going to end up. In less skilled hands, this could detract from performance. However, Wren and Ash build everything up to the greatest crescendo possible, before each accident happens with an unexpected twist that's more ridiculous than the last. This is good old fashioned slapstick at its finest that left all in the audience bellowing with laughter.
yana marumba (Walk Good) |Wynnum Fringe Opening Ceremony
We made our way onto the Wynnum Boardwalk where we were introduced to Uncle Josh, a Nunagal man and a traditional custodian on Qaundamooka country. We were told stories of the land and the importance of keeping those stories alive, and not to let them fade away as well as pay our respects to our ancestors: Indigenous or non-indigenous, everyone’s ancestors that has moved on from this world.
Sewer Rat Girl | Siobhan Gibbs
The entire performance is overflowing with chaos but it is a sort of unruliness that can only come with rigorous curation and planning. A personal highlight was a joke made about intermediality that made my HECS-debt a little more worth the trouble of paying it back.
Poetry on the Boardwalk | Anthony Lawrence
Nature is often one of a poet’s greatest influences. There is nothing more simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary than a blade of grass, a puddle, or a falling leaf. So, to experience poetry about nature in the place that inspires it was an opportunity that I, as a poet myself, found deeply enticing.
Girls to The Front | Good Chat Comedy
Warmed and guided by the hilarious Ting Lim, the night was a riotous display of some great Brisbane comics. More than just the sum of its laughs, Girls to The Front felt like a celebration of talent, of life, of stories, of the things that define us and those that bring us together. I was reminded of the sheer connective power of comedy, the way it builds tension only so that the audience may collectively feel its release.
Ensnare Burlesque | Wynnum Fringe 21
On the Wynnum Fringe Podcast series, Ophelia explained ‘inclusivity’ being a big driver for her project Ensnare, and this was definitely achieved. Showcasing a deliciously diverse set of bodies, skills, and genres, it was clear that at Ensnare, everyone is welcome and celebrated.
It's Only Life | The Head Bros
Speaking of those performers, Maddison Hutchins brought such joy and levity whenever she walked on stage; matched by her buoyant vocals. Whenever she was on stage, you couldn’t help but look at her as she was so animated.
Portraits: A Haunted Mansion | Observatory Theatre
The play follows the Godbold family as they adapt to rapid changes in their family hierarchy after their father, Ivan (played by James Hogan), suffers from a stroke. Estranged siblings, Josephine (played by Rebecca Day) and Martin (played by Emile Regano), are forced back together to confront unspoken traditions, secrets, memories, trauma, and ghosts.
Shad and Pete Save the World | Shad Wicka and Peter James
If you’re a prude or enjoy more clean humour then this isn’t the show to attend, however if you’re into crude and outlandish comedy that can travel into all kinds of weird and wonderful directions then I would recommend it.