Where else but the Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) would you be introduced to new music in six world premieres and five Australian premieres over one weekend? Many of the hand-picked selection of musicians are now based in Brisbane, but have worked all over the world.
Choreographed by Ben Stevenson OBE. Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Music Arranged and Conducted by Nigel Gaynor. Presented by Queensland Ballet. QPAC Lyric Theatre, 13 – 21 December 2024
Queensland Ballet's twelfth season of The Nutcracker is a triumph of artistry and enchantment, offering a spellbinding experience for audiences of all ages. This beloved holiday classic has been reimagined with an exceptional blend of skill, creativity, and festive cheer, courtesy of a stellar team of performers and creatives.
By Mike Bartlett. Old Fitz Theatre, Woolloomooloo, NSW. December 10 – 22, 2024
Theatre is exquisite when live arguments on stage keep differently tugging our empathies as to who’s right. Often it's nobody, of course, but the young daughter Maya in Mike Bartlett’s Snowflake is certain to draw support from those in the audience signed up to her identity politics.
By David Gieselmann. The Other Theatre in Association with bAKEHOUSE. Director Eugene Lynch. KXT On Broadway. 7 – 21 Dec, 2024
Billing The Pigeons as a “fierce, black Christmas comedy” understates the play and certainly the direction of this strange comedy. “Fierce” it is, and certainly “black”, but it’s also loud and furiously fast. Some scenes are so fast that they appear chaotic. Nine actors rushing around the stage, shouting at each other, weaving around each other, passing slips of paper that are held for a moment then passed overhead to be caught by someone else. It is chaos that is impeccably timed and meticulously rehearsed.
Music and Lyrics by Richrd M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Adapted and arranged and additional music by Will Van Dyke/ Book and additional lyrics by Cheryl Davis. Based on the stories by A.A. Milne. Produced by Fantasia Showstoppers at Kuyper Christian School, Kurrajong, NSW. Directors Alana Kenn and Lani Micsko. December 6 – 8, 2024
Fantasia Showstoppers, formed in 2020, is a theatre company for young people based in Richmond NSW. Nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Richmond is home to a thriving community who support the many arts-based organisations in the area. One of these is Fantasia Showstoppers. Overseen by talented directors David Catterall and Jake Elston, the company provides training, performance opportunities and directing experiences for young people from ages 8 to 18.
By Tay Conway, William Gammel, Leah Robyn and Rebecca Riggs Bennett. Wayalup Koort, Fremantle, WA. Dec 1-8, 2024
Up There (Wayalup) was a site responsive audio walking tour of empty spaces in the city of Wayalup. Hosted by three effervescent and caring young guides, it is part immersive experience, part documentary, part verbatim theatre and a fulfilling entertainment experience.
By Amarantha Robinson. Un(afro)pick your ideology. 45downstairs, Flinders Lane. 5 – 15 December 2024
Ilarun The Cutting Comb is a stunning amalgam of past and present, the divine and the profane, satire and poetry – and with music, dance, and drumming. Set in the 18th century, it digs into colonialism, slavery, and their twisted sexual roots. Via the play’s sly and canny language, we see that the business system, its product, and its marketing has not changed. Well, not that much.
Directed by Michael Boyd. The Playhouse, Canberra, 9–10 December 2024.
Michael Boyd, an illusionist familiar to many as an Australia’s Got Talent finalist, will be familiar to many others through the various shows he has put together that combine his talents for stage magic with either other circus-style or song and dance acts, his reputation growing largely due to the impressiveness of many of his illusions. Boyd’s 2024 Christmas Spectacular, again featuring Boyd’s illusions, incorporated a variety of Christmas-themed songs and dance acts set to such songs, along with a couple of circus acts and an appearance by
Director/Choreographer/Set Design: David Venn. Music Director: Danielle Buatti. Costume Design: Heidi Brooks. Head of Lighting: Ashlee Poole. Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St., Melbourne. 6 - 23 December, 2024
Love Actually, a well-known, and sometimes loved romantic comedy that plays with nine narratives about different aspects of love deserves a send up. This company inserts some musical numbers based on well-known songs, rolling jokes, lots of references to musical theatre and other movies the actors from Love Actually (the actual movie!) have stared in and they deliver a good to laugh at and entertaining show.
Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Conductor Benjamin Northey. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Concert Hall Sydney Opera House. 5-8 December, 2024
It’s a hot early summer Sydney evening and from Circular Quay to Tubowgule – Bennelong Point – everything’s abuzz. Friends are meeting, eating, celebrating. Visitors are taking photos. Excited fans sit outside on the steps the Opera House, the white sails hovering above them as they wait for the Crowded House concert to begin. Devotees make their way to one of the five venues inside. The ballet in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. A play in the Drama Theatre. Magic in the Playhouse.
