We can’t list everything here, but we’ll try to tickle your fancy (so to speak) with a few thought that the organisers say will “blow your mind with unexpected opportunities for joy, celebration, boundless exploration and honest reflection”.
There are hundreds of artists from five continents including exponents of theatre, music, dance, circus, film and lots more.
You can see single shows that catch your eye, but stuff connects and cumulates too.
Try Congo Connections, for example; four spirited productions that might open your eyes to the horrible blind spot the West has when it comes to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and provide an insight to the power, politics and vivacious personality of a remarkable part of the world.
By way of dramatic comparison to one of the biggest but poorest nations in the world, Singapore is one of the smallest and one of the richest. The festival’s Singapore Series offers some tantalising theatre, music of many shades, and film.
Check out a Macbeth that ealigns Verdi’s operatic version of Shakespeare’s play into a spine-tingling 80-minute revelation or you may fancy a remake of Monteverdi’s stirring 17th century opera Il Ritorno into the kind of contemporary choreographic circus that makes Circa the best performance company of its kind in the world.
Elsewhere, Hot Brown Honey will give you all-female feats of hip-hop passion and politics, while beatboxer Tom Thum’s encounter with the full Queensland Symphony Orchestra promises a night of musical wonder.
One of the big shows, FLEXN – unveils a brand new dance form direct from its Brooklyn pioneers in a jaw-dropping show that should not be missed.
In a distant echo of police killings of unarmed black men under questionable circumstances in the US, Beautiful One Day will transport you to Queensland’s Palm Island where Mulrunji Doomadgee died in dubious circumstances while in custody. Riots ensued and a state of emergency declared. Beautiful One Day is a gripping account of what happened, and what didn’t.
Theatre Republic, the pulsing festival hub in Kelvin Grove, runs over five venues and brings an insurgence of top-shelf work from the front-line independent arts scene in Australia and around the globe. It’s a place to share food, wine, music and ideas for change: three weeks of liberating pleasures.
Then there’s the new festival village – Arcadia – a place of celebration and relaxation. Two big performance tents, fab food and four bars, games, sensational shows, mind-blowing music and much more.
Oh! and we nearly forgot a velvety disco inferno, a flying circus, stars too many to quantify and fireworks too fabulous to classify.
Had your fancy tickled? All the details can be found at www.brisbanefestival.com.au
