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2017 Adelaide Cabaret Festival Opens

Adelaide Festival Centre’s 2017 Adelaide Cabaret Festival opens this weekend, with 147 performances featuring 58 international artists and 372 Australian artists over the next 16 days and nights, from June 9 to 24.

Grand old dame Her Majesty’s Theatre plays host to the completely sold-out Variety Performance Gala at 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights. The red carpet will roll out again on Saturday afternoon for attendees of all ages at the Family Gala. 

The Butterfly Club – 2017 Curated Winter Program

Get cozy this winter at The Butterfly Club. Sophia Dickinson reports.

Melbourne’s prolific cabaret, comedy, theatre and burlesque venue has announced its curated winter program. June, July and August have something in store for every taste, with pun-titled cocktails to match. The kitsch surroundings are made all the more welcoming by bespoke cocktails for each show featuring local and international talent.

Birds of Cabaret Paradise.

When Lesley Reed asked female artists in this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival about the challenges of the industry, the response was heartfelt. They work in a field dominated by men, with intense competition for job opportunities that have to be juggled with family commitments. Some of our leading ladies reveal how they cope.

“I always loved fish for the colors and birds for the plumage. In the same way, I loved those women of Cabaret. They were birds of paradise,” said French fashion and shoe designer Christian Louboutin.

New Cabaret Under The Microscope at Fringe Festival

Images of illness or injury instantly come to mind when learning the title of new Adelaide theatre company Under The Microscope’s very first show. Scarred For Life’s narrative does indeed have a tie-in with health, but there’s a much more multi-layered and unique story behind the company and the show than one might imagine, with big stars involved. Lesley Reed reports.

Lucy Durack and Jemma Rix Travel Down That Other Yellow Brick Road

Producers John Frost and Suzanne Jones have announced that Lucy Durack and Jemma Rix are joining the cast of the The Wizard of Oz to play Glinda the Good Witch and The Wicked Witch of the West respectively, alongside Anthony Warlow who will be playing The Wizard and Professor Marvel.

A World of Fair Ladies

With My Fair Lady playing in Melbourne, prior to a return Sydney season, Coral Drouyn talks to star Anna O’Byrne and looks at the history of “The World’s Best Loved Musical”.

My Fair Lady is back - some would say it never went away. Now a whole new generation is discovering the joys of “The Perfect Musical”. But the show’s origins are not so well known.

Secret Immersive Chicago in Adelaide Speakeasy

Chicago is set in a time of banned alcohol and secretive speakeasies, the Prohibition era. Emma Knights Productions is taking that secrecy and running with it, creating a very different experience for its production of the classic musical. Lesley Reed reports.

MAMMA MIA! Cast and Tour Dates Announced

The global musical phenomenon MAMMA MIA! will commence its new national tour at the Canberra Theatre Centre on November 24th 2017 followed by a season from December 26th 2017 QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in Brisbane.

The tour will continue onto Sydney’s Capitol Theatre from February 11th 2018, Crown Theatre Perth from May 15th 2018, Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from July 10th 2018 and the Festival Theatre at Adelaide Festival Centre from October 9th 2018.

Captain Cook’s Demise Musicalised

Director Jason Langley and Musical Director Michael Tyack will lead a third workshop of Between Worlds from 26 June – 14 July, ending with the new musical’s first public performance at the Australian Theatre for Young People on 15 & 16 July.

Between Worlds tells the story of James Cook’s ‘first contact’ with the Hawaiians in 1779, exploring how the desires and tensions brought to that encounter shaped the ecstatic and tragic moments that unfolded.

Does Size Matter On Stage?

Chloe Angel first felt the sting of missing out on an audition because of her weight at the age of ten. She opens her soul to discuss how to manage perceptions of being over-weight with a career in performing arts.

I remember the second it happened. It was a Friday afternoon in 1997 in the assembly hall and we were told to pair up with someone our size.

I reached out to Sandy, who pulled away her hand horrified, screamed, “we’re not the same size” and stomped away. That is the moment I realised I was fat.

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