Queensland Cabaret Festival Guide 2020

Earth To Queensland...

Come Back...

We Miss You!

A long time ago in a pre-pandemic Queensland far, far away...

Earth To Queensland...

Well, 20 years ago, actually, and in New Farm in Brisbane... and it was called the Brisbane Cabaret Festival not the Queensland Cabaret Festival but the point is... The Cabfest is 20 years old!

So it’s time to come back from under the doonah, or outer space, or wherever you’ve been hiding, and enjoy seeing actual talent on stage in front of real people again - Cabaret style!

With a 100% Queensland contingent including Ben Ely, Jenny Wynter, Tyrone Noonan, and Sahara Beck, to name but a few, the festival runs across multiple venues from October 15 to November 7...

And to celebrate two decades of 21st Century Cabaret there will also be a special “20 Years of the Cabfest!” Gala in the grand Concert Hall of the Old Museum with performers past and present on Saturday 31st October...

Check out full details inside and on our website

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Kick Back...

Cabaret Style!

Welcome Back!

But it’s a much changed world you’ll be coming back to...

To Live Deliciously ÚMBRIEL and Sellma Soul & The Cult

Here’s a few things to help you re-acclimatise: * Show capacity is significantly reduced so book your tickets early so as not to miss out There are no individual tickets on sale - TABLE BOOKINGS ONLY *

* The tables vary from a combination of 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 so best to quickly herd your cats first and then book online * Maybe consider using a bill-splitting app like splitwise to make things easier * Just rocking up at the door is a recipe for disappointment * Everyone take a breath - remember we’re all in this together, keep calm and carry on, and other crisis cliches...

Venue Info:

Dost thou dare to live deliciously? Would it frighten you?

The Outpost 8 Warner Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 theoutpostbar.com.au

Do you fear the depths of hell? Yet what cost for contentment?

The Old Museum 480 Gregory Terrace Bowen Hills QLD 4006 oldmuseum@qyo.org.au 07 32574089 For other venue Information please see our website - queenslandcabaretfestival.com.au

To live deliciously is the queer exploration of self and why we find ourselves delving into the underworld to find acceptance. Witness a heartfelt homage to the red baddy downstairs.

As grandma used to say “you go to heaven for the weather and hell for the company” and we would all rather be having a smoke with Judy garland than shaking hands with some clean winged daddy’s boy.

Vibrate in symphonic hellish bops as ÚMBRIEL (James Halloran) and Sellma soul return from the closet to present Brisbane’s first ride to hell as they sing hits from Kate Bush, Bjork, Tori Amos and many more.

The Outpost

Thursday October 15

8:00PM

This Time It’s Personal Ben Ely

Songs Of Compulsion Lucinda Shaw Lucinda Shaw offers up tender and powerful material from a rich performance history, inhabiting personal selections of original songs and time-honoured favourites that have inspired a life-long love affair with lyrics and storytelling.

Driven by a passionate relationship with gritty, authentic truth-telling this anthology performance will draw on songs from Lucinda’s body of work with Brisbane bands Silver Sircus and Isis as well as bespoke reworks of material by David Bowie, Lou Reed and Jacques Brel.

Joined by frequent collaborators Mark Angel (guitars), Terry Dixon (bass) and James Lees (piano), Lucinda’s Songs Of Compulsion will strip back and romance the bones of cabaret, tantalizing its dark corners with wit, resonance and vigour.

The Outpost

Friday October 16

8:00PM

Ben shares personal tales and weird stories pulled from the nebulous haze of Brisbane suburban legend.

“It’s like… looking through a window into myself… like a shadow of me… it’s like I’m writing about a character that existed but it’s not me anymore.”

Ben Ely is a founding member of the Aria award winning band Regurgitator and worked on many other projects including film and tv, Dance, Circus and theatre receiving an AFI and Australian Screen Film award for his work on the feature film Somersault.

So set aside some quality time to get up-not-too-close and personal with Ben and friends as he shares stories and songs about his life, the music scene, and Bris Vegas…

The Outpost

Friday October 16

9:30PM

Redfoot Cabaret Lock&Hock Productions

What do you get when you cross a German MC, his ‘diva’ of a wife, an Italian waiter and a French maid who can’t speak French?

RedFoot Cabaret!

Take off your shoes, stomp some grapes, sing along and have some laughs as you follow this eclectic mob of broke performers trying to stay just the ‘right amount of drunk’ to put up with each other’s antics.

Jenny Wynter Performs

“By Request”

“Jenny Wynter may be the funniest woman in cabaret.”

Adelaide Now Songbird and improvised comedy queen Jenny Wynter performs By Request, the “side-splitting cabaret” which is never the same show twice.

Join this internationally award-winning comic talent in a mind-blowing collection of songs, stories and comedy...all inspired by suggestions from you, the audience!

Lock&Hock Productions is a family production company created by husband and wife team Amanda and Travis Hock. Locals to the Capricorn Coast, this team is enthusiastic about bringing their region and surrounding areas exciting and innovative arts creations.

Put your suggestions on paper, stick them in the on-stage fishbowl and help create a totally unique, hilarious and never-to-be-repeated evening of cabaret, performed strictly “By Request”.

The Old Museum Saturday October 17 7:30PM

The Old Museum Saturday October 17 9:00PM

Back At The Piano

And Back in The Regions In October...

Bradley McCaw

Simon Drew’s Sextet

Simon Drew is one of Australia’s premier interpreters of the Great American Songbook. His authentic renditions of jazz standards are loved across the globe, and his smooth vocal and trumpet styles hint influences of Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, and Kurt Elling.

Sunshine Coast Jazz Club Sunday October 18 12:00PM & 4:00PM

MZAZA: The Birth And Death Of Stars Returning to the QCF for a one night only intimate performance, critically acclaimed entertainer Bradley McCaw will share stories from his award winning career in pop, music theatre and comedy, in this brand new show.

Award-winning six-piece group MZAZA provides Balkan and French sounds for sophisticated folk lovers around the world.

Gladstone

Tuesday October 27

11:00AM

Showcasing music from his upcoming major studio recording release WORRIED MINDS, and his extensive catalogue of musical theatre works including the recent Queensland smash hit BECOMING BILL that “will surely make history in Australian musical theatre” (Theatre Haus), this will be a unique one night only event never to be repeated.

“Great future ahead of him, not only as a superb vocalist but also with excellent writing talent” Musical Theatre Review UK

The Rocky Horrow Picture Show (1975)

The Old Museum

Gladstone

Sunday October 18

7:00PM

Dress up as your favourite character from the 1970s cult classic & sing along with the eclectic characters...

Saturday October 31

7:00PM

Brisbanality Brownout!

Beyond The Blue Horizon

The Dustbin Hoffmans

Songs Of Mike Nesmith

Four rock musicians stumble into the world of cabaret...

Finding their feet they contemplate the big questions about life in Brisbane such as…

After The Monkees disbanded, Mike Nesmith set off down his unique musical path, giving us some of the “smartest songs ever penned about cows, break-ups, and broken-down Chevys”.

Should the Brisbane River be declared the brownest river in the world?

Is the Fourex Man actually a leprechaun?

What special kind of love dwells in the hearts of Brisbanites?

Joanne, Different Drum, Listen to the Band, and Rio became huge AM Radio hits, and cemented Nesmith as a songwriter and performer with a singular take on the minutiae of life.

For the answers to these questions and more join the Dustbin Hoffmans in this inciteful romp sure to delight and amuse locals and visitors in equal measure.

In Beyond the Blue Horizon, love, friendship, boredom and shenanigans are enveloped in his quirky, kooky country-rock embrace, and served up by a superb band for your listening pleasure, and pleasant bemusement.

You never know your luck in a medium-sized city!

“The Dustbin Hoffmans are in a category all of their own” James Valentine ABC TV/Radio

Celebrating Mike are Australia’s pedal steel guitar maestro Michel Rose, vocalist Anje West, 3x ARIA-nominated Danny Widdicombe (guitar/vocals), The Company’s Jamie Clark (guitar), Helen Russell (bass) and Kym Ambrose (drums).

The Old Museum Saturday October 24 7:30PM

The Old Museum Saturday October 24 9:00PM

Yours Sincerely Banana Brain

SONGS FROM THE START

A cabaret featuring original music

by Lizzie Flynn

Jackie Marshall

Friends. When we are young we find ourselves becoming friends with people because they happen to be in the same places as us – at our school, at our uni, singing in our local pub while watching the latest hot band.

Showcasing Jackie Marshall’s heartfelt and dynamically playful improvisatory style as a solo artist and utilising simple acoustic guitar and her exquisitely moving voice.

Follow the rollercoaster ride of two besties, as they navigate growing together, growing apart, and growing older.

A musical comedy with letters from the heart and the stamp to an enduring friendship.

Actors: Ella Macrokanis, Emma Whitefield and Lizzie Flynn The Band: The Copabananas Piano - Peter Stewart Guitar - Rory Dollard Bass - Reuben Johnson Percussion - Andre Bonetti

3:00PM The Old Museum Sunday October 25 &7:00PM

Songs From The Start features a selection of 60s folk and blues songs Marshall taught herself as a kid in Brisbane in the 90s, alongside a number of project-inspired commissions written by the artist.

Not for Jackie, the squalls and dystopian insouciance of the grunge era: instead she cut her teeth on artists such as Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and Nina Simone.

Entranced with the impassioned sincerity of large emotions, well-read lyrical dexterity, and heartfelt social commentary – Jackie often found herself playing these songs to her high school comrades on picnics in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens or on the back decks of 90s West End sharehouses - making them her ‘songs from the start’...

The Old Museum

Sunday October 25 5:00PM

Melissa Western Leah Cotterell & Helen Russell Matthew Semple Alison St Ledger Jenny Wynter Greg Bird Tyrone Noonan Pearly Black Sandro Colarelli ‘Tyrone’ (David Megarrity) MC: Babushka Accompanied by some of Brisbane’s most versatile and talented musicians - Andrew Shaw, Nicki Perry, Jamie Clarke and Peta Wilson.

It was twenty years ago today…

Well, give or take a month or so… In December 2000 the first Brisbane Cabaret Festival was hatched over a glass of wine between friends (you know who you are!).

So come along to the grand Concert Hall of the Old Museum to celebrate two decades of 21st Century Cabaret with performers past and present – not to mention the fact that we can see actual talent on stage in front of real people again!

Mistresses of Ceremony - Babushka – will be joined by a cavalcade of cabfest regulars and relative newcomers for a night of true high-quality variety cabaret.

Don’t hesitate - numbers limited!

The Old Museum Saturday October 31 8:00PM

20 Years of The Cabfest!

Gala Performance

Chameleon

Karen Lee Roberts

Elsewhere During November...

Apocalipstick

POLYTOXIC & FRIENDS Sashaying out of the rubble and into the limelight is an all-star rag-tag team of Brisbane’s finest theatre hybrids in a jaw-dropping, eye-popping, ring-stinging feast for the senses.

This is raucous cutting-edge cabaret that’s sure to leave you with a spring in your step and a fresh new coat of APOCALIPSTICK!

Metro Arts Friday November 6 8:00PM

This hilarious, emotionally charged, one woman cabaret has a relatable moment for everyone! A sweet yet very real insight into dating, fitness and the dreaded high school reunion will double as a great night out and free therapy for all.

Chameleon brilliantly portrays a new point of view of the norms of mental illness through heartfelt stories of a woman’s journey to mental wellness. With original music from the world of the blues, Chameleon packs a healthy dose of funny for the mind, body and soul.

This show tells the story of Alexandra, played by Karen Lee Roberts, working through situations in her every day and finding clarity. Mr Sunshine, aka Dr. Jeff Usher (a vision impaired jazz blues legend), is her guiding light on piano.

The Old Museum

Sunday November 1 3:00PM

The Story And Songs Of Billy Joel STARRING ANTHONY MARA - More than just a Piano Man, Billy Joel is a living legend of the music industry with a catalogue of hit songs spanning more than 50 years.

The Story & Songs of Billy Joel – My Life chronologically shares the journey of a remarkable career.

Mackay

Friday November 6

7:30PM

...Apart From The Outpost, that is

Love Without A Bulletproof Vest

Queen Of Hearts

Georgie Neilsen

Sahara Beck

Do you have a number one heartbreak?

Roll out the red carpet… Brissie bombshell Sahara Beck is set to reign supreme with her glorious new EP, Queen Of Hearts. Sahara is back to shine even brighter with her new red-hot release and the stage is set to showcase some of her new tracks for the first time in the intimate atmosphere of The Outpost.

That heartbreak that makes you re-evaluate how much and who you give access to your heart. That heartbreak that leaves you wondering if your heart will ever recover and find another heart that fits perfectly with yours, like theirs did. Or are you the heartbreaker? The one that got away.

Whichever one you are, the heartbroken or the heartbreaker, we all walk away with the same thing.

Memories and a playlist to match.

We revisit these memories through music from time to time.

Each song connects us back to those moments that are sometimes impossible to explain with just words. It is almost as if these songs were made especially for us to tell the story of a love that left a mark. The love we forgot to wear our bulletproof vest for.

The Outpost

Thursday November 5

8:00PM

In the last couple of years, Sahara’s sewn up a swag of awards including third place in the illustrious Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition, first in the Unsigned Find International Songwriting Competition, the 2019 Carol Lloyd Award, and four Qld Music Awards.

Brimming with infectious energy and playful abandon, witness the next sparkling step in Sahara Beck’s musical journey.

Welcome aboard, it’s going to be quite a trip.

The Outpost

Thursday November 5

9:30PM

Hers

Utopia?

Matthew Semple

Album Launch Tyrone Noonan

Behind every successful man is a great woman—or more likely, a few dozen.

Acclaimed cabaret artist and writer Matt Semple celebrates the feminine in Hers: a love letter to mothers, sisters, partners, and self-identifying women everywhere.

Accompanied by a three-piece band, Matt tracks his journey of feminism through the influence of female role models in his own life and across the world.

The new album Utopia? traverses genres and influences, with pop gems sitting comfortably alongside beautiful ballads, and all carrying a powerful message as Ty expertly weaves between personal and socio-political themes.

Tyrone says of the inspiration behind the record: “I’m aiming to create a journey through the myriad of human emotions, both on a personal and a global level, that we are all facing right now”.

Equal parts funny and heartfelt, Hers explores a personal side of feminism through the music of pop, rock, and musical theatre.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a gloomy record: “Things are evolving so quickly, but amongst the 24 hour news cycle, there’s not enough balance between the negative and positive. This album tries to bridge that balance.”

“Real, honest and upfront. Semple is doing what established comedians do best with a no-holds-barred approach to humour.” — Scenestr

The record features co-writes with the likes of the late Grant (G.W.) McLennan, Dan Rosen (ARIA CEO), Donna Dyson and rising NT star Colin Lillie.

The Outpost

The Outpost

Friday November 6

8:00PM

Friday November 6

9:30PM

Hunky Dory

I Left My Heart In Highgate Hill

Alison St Ledger

Sean Sennett Presents

Regarded as one of Bowie’s best works. Praised by Time, Rolling Stone Magazine and NME as one of the greatest albums of all time… Hunky Dory is quite simply a wondrous work of art.

Five talented female singers from Queensland join forces for this love letter to Brisbane - including Megan Cooper, Charlotte Emily and Rachael Dixon - singing songs written

by Sean Sennett - with occasional assistance from Robert Parde, Tyrone Noonan (george) and Irishman Andy White.

Influenced by Warhol, Dylan and The Velvet underground.

Nods to Nietzsche and Aleister Crowley. And including joyous gems like “Fill your Heart” and “Kooks”… Hunky Dory is a time capsule of Bowie at his most inspired.

Alison St Ledger – reunited with Guy Webster on guitar, Meg Burstow on Piano and joined by Robert (Dr Bob) Harley on Bass and Nicki Perry on drums – performs the album in its entirety…

Guest musicians include John Willsteed from the Go Betweens, who bought his signature acoustic guitar sound to the songs ‘A Notion Of Your Heart’ and ‘Angel Of Brisbane’.

ARIA winning songwriter Robert Parde co-wrote and appears on ‘Winter In August’ and ‘On Christmas Day’.

At a time when things feel so out of kilter, what better way to uplift the spirit…and say it’s alright… we’re ok… everything is Hunky Dory!

A song cycle of sorts, I Left My Heart In Highgate Hill deals with three big themes: love, unrequited love and, the city itself, Brisbane. This is a special encore performance after sell-out shows in 2018 and 2019...

The Outpost

The Outpost

Saturday November 7

8:00PM

Saturday November 7

9:30PM

At A Glance THU 15 OCT

8:00PM To Live Deliciously: ÚMBRIEL and Sellma Soul & The Cult

FRI 16 OCT

8:00PM Songs Of Compulsion: Lucinda Shaw 9:30PM This Time It’s Personal: Ben Ely

The Outpost SAT 17 OCT

The Outpost

7:30PM Red Foot Cabaret: Lock&Hock Productions

SUN 18 OCT

12:00PM & 4:00PM Simon Drew’s Sextet Sunshine Coast Jazz Club

9:00PM Jenny Wynter Performs “By Request” The Old Museum

SAT 24 OCT The Old Museum TUE 27 OCT

SAT 31 OCT

THU 5 NOV

7:30PM Brisbanality Brownout!: The Dustbin Hoffmans 9:00PM Beyond The Blue Horizon: Songs Of Mike Nesmith 11:00AM MZAZA: The Birth And Death Of Stars Gladstone Entertainment & Convention Centre 7:00PM The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) 8:00PM Love Without A Bulletproof Vest: Georgie Neilsen

The Old Museum

7:00PM Back At The Piano: Bradley McCaw

SUN 25 OCT

3:00PM & 7:00PM Yours Sincerely Banana Brain: A cabaret featuring original music by Lizzie Flynn

The Old Museum SAT 31 OCT

SUN 1 NOV

FRI 6 NOV

9:30PM Queen Of Hearts: Sahara Beck The Outpost FRI 6 NOV

5:00PM Songs From The Start: Jackie Marshall 8:00PM 20 Years Of The Cabfest!

Gala Performance

The Old Museum

3:00PM Chameleon: Karen Lee Roberts 8:00PM Hers: Matthew Semple 9:30PM Utopia? Album Launch: Tyrone Noonan

The Outpost

7:30PM The Story And Songs Of Billy Joel Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre 8:00PM Apocalipstick Metro Arts, West End

SAT 7 NOV The Outpost

8:00PM Hunky Dory: Alison St Ledger 9:30PM I Left My Heart In Highgate Hill: Sean Sennett Presents Note: all dates, times and details are correct at time of printing but may be subject to change

Proudly supported by

Queensland Cabaret Festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

queenslandcabaretfestival.com.au