Following a record-breaking 2017, Brisbane Powerhouse’s adored Wonderland Festival returns for 11 salacious nights of revelry from 22 November.
Now in its fifth year, Wonderland Festival brings together talented performers for a unique carnival of comedy, burlesque, circus, music, magic and more.
Wonderland Festival is Brisbane Powerhouse’s most significant celebration of and single investment in local artists, with 100 per cent of net box office going directly to those creating and delivering the work.
BOMBSHELL BURLESQUE: HEATWAVE
When: Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 November 2018
Where: Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $30 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 18+
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
Returning after consecutive sold out seasons at Wonderland in 2016 and 2017, Bombshell Burlesque presents a brand new show that is hot hot hot! With focus on glamour and fun, Heatwave is a fast paced, cheeky show features stunning group routines with slick choreography, award winning soloists and a chanteuse MC as part of the action. Celebrating all things that will get you hot under the collar, you’ll be treated to a spectacular array of glittering performances by Queensland’s premier showgirls.
MATT TARRANT: HONESTLY DISHONEST
When: Thursday 29 November – Sunday 2 December 2018
Where: Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $25 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: All ages
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
One of the most successful up-and-coming international magicians and mentalists, 2016 Survivor contestant Matt Tarrant will read your mind, amaze you with the world-class sleight of hand and have you questioning everything.
Honestly Dishonest will give you access to the secret life of becoming a magician – and how tough it’s becoming to fool new audiences. With his razor sharp wit and surprisingly blunt nature, Matt will leave you utterly amazed and delighted.
FATALE
When: Thursday 29 November – Sunday 2 December 2018
Where: Studio 3, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: $32 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 15+
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
Witness cunning stunts performed by a stunning… woman! Come on a noir adventure of old world glamour; both beautiful and bizarre. Brisbane burlesque queen and international sideshow showgirl Jacqueline Furey brings you her first ever full length show that posits – when being femme can be fatal, what’s left to fear?
Performing potentially life threatening acts with her signature elegance and sass, this wicked woman is not for the faint of heart – or stomach. You’ll be tantalised and terrorised if you dare to peep the spectacle that is a fire eating, whip cracking, sword swallowing stripteaser… with a microphone!
BEER DRINKING WOMAN
When: Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 November 2018
Where: Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $32 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 15+
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
Vaudeville Vamp Christa Hughes (Machine Gun Fellatio, Circus Oz, Club Swizzle) takes audiences on the journey from that elegant first sip of the Speakeasy Siren to the despair and pain of the Dive Bar Diva in an hilarious take on the night of a booze-soaked lush.
Accompanied by the talented jazz pianist Leonie Cohen, Christa performs her own compositions amongst a selection from Tom Waits, Memphis Slim, J. Shelton, Frank Sinatra, The Tiger Lillies and a few surprises.
LADY SINGS THE BLUES: MAMA ALTO SINGS BILLIE HOLIDAY
When: Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 November 2018
Where: Studio 3, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $15 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: All ages
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
The great Billie Holiday was a complex and captivating icon. Her voice and her songs were idiosyncratic, exquisite, and powerful. Her interpretations, her phrasing, and her stories through song balanced joy and sorrow, pathos and intellect.
Returning to Wonderland in a stunning mosaic of story and song, acclaimed jazz singer, cabaret artiste and gender transcendent diva Mama Alto, alongside pianist extraordinaire Miss Chief, celebrate the triumph, sorrow, life and music of Lady Day.
ELIXIR
When: Thursday 29 November – Saturday 1 December 2018
Where: Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $39 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 15+
More Info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
Elixir is circus with a difference! Uninhibited by cliché or expectation, subversive and hilarious, the story follows three enthusiastic and acrobatic scientists who attempt to create the elixir of life.
The mayhem that follows is a beautiful mix of incredible acrobatics and impeccable comic timing. With a blend of breathtaking acrobatics, hilarious antics and sweaty muscles, you’ll feel the heat and won’t believe your eyes.
NOTORIOUS STRUMPET AND DANGEROUS GIRL
When: Thursday 22 – Friday 23 November 2018
Where: Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $39 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 18+
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
A strikingly truthful tale of one woman’s voyage to connect with her convict past. Get taken in by the self-supporting arms of this astounding Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Where twisted storytelling and spectacular circus skills are shaken and stirred, with one part dark comedy, one part serenity and three parts hostility, hilarity and honesty.
This award-winning solo work, written and performed by Jess Love (The Candy Butchers, La Soiree, Circa) plunges into the dark stuff, both the booze and the trail of mayhem it leaves in its wake.
AN EVENING WITH ILLUSIONIST JOSH NORBIDO
When: Thursday 22 – Saturday 24 November 2018
Where: Graffiti Room, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $30 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 12+
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
Immerse yourself with illusionist Josh Norbido for an evening of astonishing close-up magic, baffling mind-reading and impossible moments. Josh has been fortunate to perform for VIP guests at events such as Chris Rock, Queen and even for Google… But most importantly his Mum says he’s REALLY GOOD! Each show is limited to just 30 seats so that guests will experience the magic right in front of their eyes, in their hands and even in their mind!
LOVE HURTS
When: Thursday 29 November – Saturday 1 December 2018
Where: Studio 3, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets: From $25 (+ booking fee)
Suitable for: Ages 15+
More info: brisbanepowerhouse.org
How does a simple trip to the toilet end up with the fire brigade in attendance? Can you break a body part that doesn’t technically have a bone? What is the worst sex scene from a romance novel ever written?
Love and sex have been a source of torture long before the Internet gifted us with the ability to ‘swipe right’ on someone for an evening. Kat Davidson and Emily Kristopher take stories of sex and romance gone wrong from the internet, the audience and their own experience and weave them into one raucous hour of entertainment.
