Throughout Brisbane Festival stunning and moving performances will fill QPAC’s Concert Hall, Playhouse, and Cremorne Theatre. These world-class venues are at the heart of Brisbane’s thriving cultural landscape. From soaring opera to stunning chamber orchestra, heartfelt dramas to entrancing musicals, Brisbane Festival comes to life at QPAC.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) is one of Australia's leading cultural centres for world-renowned, emerging & local live performance. T
Trent Dalton's Love Stories
Have your heart strings tugged as Trent Dalton’s play dives into the love stories of Brisbane and even his own marriage. Inspired by a personal moment of profound love and generosity, bestselling author – and one of Australia's finest journalists – Trent Dalton spent two months in 2021 pounding city pavements, speaking to Australians from all walks of life and asking them one simple and direct question: 'Can you please tell me a love story?’
GRIMM
GRIMM, the latest tour de force from Shake & Stir Theatre Co beckons you into a world where fairytales are reimagined with a profound intensity. Be warned, these bedtime stories may cause nightmares… From the company behind the award-winning stage spectacles Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and A Christmas Carol comes this bold adaption of tales from the Brothers Grimm, in a bewitching theatre experience.
Straight From The Strait
This production reverberates with the power of song, a harmonious fusion of traditional Torres Strait music and contemporary melodies. Through the vibrant ancestral languages of Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya and Torres Strait Creole combined with English and the backbeat of a contemporary band, it tells a tale that pulses with passion and inspiration. This production reverberates with the power of song, a harmonious fusion of traditional Torres Strait music and contemporary melodies.
Eucalyptus — The Opera
Jonathan Mills’ new opera is based on the Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Eucalyptus, by Murray Bail. The score is mysterious and colourful, with moments of dramatic intensity and hushed beauty. Eucalyptus is an ageless story of love and longing, about a daughter and a father – Ellen and Holland. Ellen’s overprotective father has created a safe haven from the world – a forest of eucalypts. But is the forest a sanctuary? Or is Ellen, like Rapunzel, imprisoned?
Big Name, No Blankets
Big Name, No Blankets celebrates the phenomenal journey and impact of Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher, one of the founding members of Australian music icons Warumpi Band in an epic rock 'n' roll theatre show. Warumpi Band is the original First Peoples rock band to sing in language, known for their anthems 'Blackfella/Whitefella', 'My Island Home' and 'Jailanguru Pakurnu'. Big Name, No Blankets is inspired by their rise to the top through their politics, presence, and potent rock 'n' roll riffs.
Camerata, Lou Bennett & Lior: Ngapa William Cooper
Don’t miss this Queensland premiere of the chamber orchestra arrangement of Lior, Nigel Westlake and Lou Bennett’s moving song cycle Ngapa William Cooper, exploring the extraordinarily powerful story of Yorta Yorta man, Uncle William Cooper. In this very special, completely unconducted performance, Camerata — Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra and Lior once again join forces, this time with Lou Bennett, for this moving and heartfelt performance.
Paco Peña — Requiem for the Earth
A profound musical odyssey of passion and redemption, Paco Peña — Requiem for the Earth celebrates our glorious planet while issuing a stark warning: time is running out and we must act now to save the Earth. With lyrics in Spanish and Latin, this stunning performance intricately merges the solemnity of a traditional Requiem with the vibrant energy of flamenco.
Handel's House
Experience the magnetic allure of Yukie Sato as she transforms Handel's House into her own with her radiant soprano alongside The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Making her highly anticipated Australian debut, this Japanese-born, Swiss-educated soprano delivers a George Frideric Handel experience with uncompromising clarity. Sato’s voice holds audiences in the palm of her hand, cracks open hearts, and lovingly reassembling them. Revel in her technical prowess and natural charisma, perfectly befitting Handel's Germanic approach to Italian style.
Spirit of the Wild: A Vision of Nature
Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Umberto Clerici, bring you a musical response to climate change featuring two major works, Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild for solo oboe (Diana Doherty) and John Luther Adams: Become Ocean for large orchestra. The music invites you to become one with the sea itself – to remember life’s humble beginnings on our water-based planet and ponder a future in which we return to its depth.
ACO: Tognetti. Mendelssohn. Bach.
Renowned for his Bach interpretations, Tognetti melds the genius of Mendelssohn, Bach, and modern composers into a celebration of musical artistry. It’s a journey through classical masterpieces, contemporary innovations and the enduring love for music. Like all the best performances, this concert will remind you of why you love music.
QPAC is a proud partner of Brisbane Festival.
