Shakespeare said “all the world’s a stage”. . . And if any festival is proof of this, it’s Anywhere Festival! The festival where plays and performances happen anywhere BUT a theatre!
Anywhere Festival returns in 2023 and it’s just as out-there as in previous years – there’s music in a cemetery, dance in an airport lounge, an opening night takeover of South Brisbane’s Fish Lane, the Herston medical quarter, and a closing weekend of shows in the industrial spaces of the Paint Factory in Yeronga!
The Fish Lane takeover sees an activation presenting performances under railway lines, street corners and garden pockets. Food trucks and a pop up bar will appear at The Paint Factory in Yeronga, where there’ll be a resident escape room from Project Immersive, and a packed three-day programme. This programme includes ‘Incendia’, an opportunity to decide your fate in ‘Banshee’s Luck’, D.I.V.E Theatre Collective’s ‘Into The Light’, the inappropriate and unmissable ‘The Human Centipede Musical’, Gold Coast band The Riot, Contra Guitar Duo, and a collaboration of 34 Australian playwrights in ’34 Scenes About The Weather’.
There’s plenty to see – more than 300 performances of 54 different shows across Brisbane. Anywhere covers everywhere from Ashgrove to Carina, Archerfield to West End. . . With theatre, comedy, music, dance, and immersion, all in one festival.
'Incendia'
“This is all about discovering and rediscovering parts of Brisbane with shows,” Anywhere Festival Director/CEO Paul Osuch says. “I’ve always thought seeing a show is so much more fun when you discover it in a place you didn’t expect and that’s what Anywhere is all about.”
There are large numbers of world premiere shows and weird and wonderful locations every year at Anywhere Festival – both things which keep audiences coming back after 12 years.
One Anywhere concert attendee in Carina said: “It was so much fun watching a show in someone’s house! I felt more like an invited guest than a ticket holder.” This sums up the joy of the festival – it’s an event for people who just want a fun night, and something to talk about.
'34 Scenes About The Weather'
“Anywhere is the only festival where the joy of watching live performance is matched by the absolute randomness of any of the spaces,” Paul Osuch says.
Fringe Brisbane takes a break in 2023 to return in 2024 with a full festival, but in the meantime, the bright yellow painted building will play host as a hub during Anywhere.
“The old Stefan Salon has so many nooks and crannies, from the chandelier room to the red room that is the Paladar South Brisbane cuban cigar cafe v2. It’s another way anywhere Festival and Fringe Brisbane are supporting local artists to create and present new works,” Paul Osuch says.
Anywhere Festival Brisbane is on from 4-21 May.
