Top Picks: Brisbane Pride Festival 2012

The Brisbane Festival takes over our city in September. Here are our candidates for best of the fest.

FROM THE KITCHEN

Paul Capsis, one of Australia’s most versatile performers, stars in this simple, truthful, and moving play. Starting at the kitchen table, Angela’s Kitchen travels through space and time to tell the story of Capsis’s grandmother, who left war and poverty in Malta to give her children a new life in Australia. Co-written by Julian Meyrick and supported by playwright Hilary Bell, this play will not only move you with its intimate and evocative account of the migrant experience, but also amaze you through Capsis’s incredible performance of each character. Angela’s Kitchen, 26-29 September, Brisbane Powerhouse. brisbanepowerhouse.org

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR

One of the world’s oldest and most famous choirs, the Vienna Boys Choir, is returning to Australia this year, and Brisbane will be the first to bask in their angelic harmonies. To commence their Australian tour, they will give an inspiring and original performance which will include Giovanni Pergolesi’s haunting masterwork Stabat Mater, Mozart’s sublime Laudate Dominum, and the world premiere of Land of Sweeping Plains—written by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin and based on Dorothea Mackellar’s iconic Australian text, My Country. Vienna Boys Choir, 9 September, Concert Hall, QPAC. qpac.com.au

YES TO ‘S’

Sinuous, sophisticated, sensual, and savage: all these words describe S—a world premiere circus production by internationally acclaimed contemporary circus company, Circa. After bringing us the global phenomenon Wunderkammer in 2010, creator Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa ensemble have been inspired by the shape, grammatical functions, and sounds of the letter s. S will play with your emotions, reveal the unknown, and explore the possibilities of human strength and flexibility; the stage will be filled with a beautiful mélange of bodies and intoxicating music. Expect to be moved. S, 8-15 September, Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

BATHTUB BRILLIANCE

Turning the stage into a bathroom this September is Soap – The Show; a splash-filled fusion of new circus, comedy, and cabaret where eight acrobats take to the stage to perform in, on, and around bathtubs. This dazzling, steamy, and daring night of entertainment, including a mop ballet, bath ledge gymnastics, and a love story between two feet, will be performed to a soundtrack including the music of Mika, Sia, Tool, Gnarls Barkley and Curtis Mayfield. Expect to get wet: this show’s brilliant display of physicality and water-soaked antics will leave you dripping from head to toe in pure enjoyment. Soap – The Show, 18-22 September, Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

LAST SUPPER

After a sold out Australian tour, The Wau Wau Sisters are back and headed to Brisbane to serve up their own sinful night of chaos, burlesque, comedy, and circus with their irreverent, sacrilegious, foul-mouthed, and uninhibited show, The Wau Wau Sisters’ Last Supper. The brave and bawdy duo will dish up a night of endless fun and entertainment as twelve disciples, umpteen cocktails, and fearless abandon combine in a night of mayhem. Get ready: this audacious and deliciously profane reinvention of The Last Supper will leave you raving with a finale you will never forget. The Wau Wau Sisters’ Last Supper, 25-29 September, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts. jwcoca.qld.gov.au

NIJINSKY

In its Australian debut performance, the internationally acclaimed Hamburg Ballet will present Nijinsky—a powerful tribute to one of the most gifted male dancers in history, Vaslav Nijinsky. Following Nijinsky’s story from a famed career with the Ballets Russes, to pioneering modern dance as a choreographer, to love, war, and finally mental illness, this ballet will captivate you with dynamic, rich, and gripping theatre. With choreography by artistic director John Neumeier, this not-to-be-missed performance will delight, entertain, and inspire. Nijinsky, 26-28 August, Playhouse, QPAC. qpac.com.au

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

Following the release of his acclaimed new album, Out of the Game, Rufus Wainwright will be taking the stage in Brisbane as part of his Australian full band tour. Known as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation, as well as one of the musical world’s true original contemporary artists, Wainwright will recreate the studio experience backed by an amazingly talented eight-piece band. This is an extraordinary concert—and a live show not to be missed. Rufus Wainwright, 12 September, Concert Hall, QPAC. qpac.com.au

지하 UNDERGROUND

Let your curiosity guide you to 지하 Underground, a pop-up Korean speakeasy that has taken root in a forgotten corner of Brisbane. Drink the night away with the venue's eccentric proprietor as a tale of love transcending culture, language, and gender unfolds to rhythms created by his staff—a ragtag crew of musicians. This transitory world, written by Jeremy Neideck and Nathan Stoneham, allows you to indulge in a mix of live music and magical storytelling where every hour is happy hour and where the post-performance space transforms into a fully functioning bar. 지하 Underground, 11-29 September, Absoe Car Park, West End. brisbanefestival.com.au

WE LOVE YOU!

Love never dies; it just gets harder to digest. We Love You! (as much as everybody else does) takes on this motto with outlaw performance cannibal Ghostboy and cross-dressing multi-instrumentalist Sir Lady Grantham presenting this one beast/one bitch neo-cabaret comedy. A Brisbane premiere, this production promises an absurdist trip, exploring the febrile jungle we call love. So face off to the fact that you are not Don Juan, discover what mouths are really made for, and learn survival techniques such as interpretive cannibalism as you join this dark and transcendental expedition led by these Australian underground stars. We Love You! (as much as everybody else does), 20-22 September, Sue Benner Theatre, Metro Arts. brisbanefestival.com.au