Anywhere Festival returns to nooks and crannies around Brisbane, in a season made for the cost of living crisis.
Anywhere was created by Paul Osuch in Brisbane, in 2011. Since, there have been Anywhere Festivals in Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Moreton Bay, Parramatta, Wollongong, Frankston, and across Queensland. Audiences get to discover new places, and experience places they may have already known. . . In a new, different way.
The 2024 event sees 172 performances of 60 productions across 35 spaces. It features theatre, comedy, music, dance, circus, poetry, magic, film and walking tours from established and inventive new acts. The event will once again make it possible for artists to present in spaces where we live, work, and walk by. Places – for example – like a pole gym. . . A cemetery. . . A dog park. . . Backyards. . . An airport lounge. . . A warehouse. . . A church. All of these feature as performance venues in 2024.
“We know performance makers are looking for a way to create and perform and for audiences to experience shows even though money is getting very tight,” Founder/Festival Director Paul Osuch says.
"Traditional venues are really struggling at the moment. Creating performances in places people live, work and walk past is a way to create something special where artists can make money and audiences can afford the show.”
'Shakespeare At The Lake' (from a previous Anywhere Festival) - Image © Cynthia Lee
If a cabaret and music legend is your style, you’ll be interested in Leah Cotterell, who returns to South Brisbane Cemetery with Narelle McCoy for ‘Whistling Past The Graveyard’.
‘Aerialicious’ sees a pole gym turned into a home for late-night circus cabaret. ‘Spooky Dog And The Teen-Age Gang Mysterious’ is a comedy homage to a certain cartoon dog, set in a haunted amusement park escape room. A West End cellar becomes the location for an improvised comedy fusing romance and magic, ‘A Lust Of Elves And Magic’.
More than half of this year’s programme is World Premiere works, including ‘Destructive Nature’, set in the famous little Queenslander in South Brisbane that a shopping centre had to build around.
Music-lovers can check out backyard concerts in Dutton Park with Jam Jazzy Fresh, plus Angel Strings and K Mak return for two concerts only, inside the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium.
'Tipsy History' (from a previous Anywhere Festival) - Image © Geoff Lawrence
Shows for audiences start from just $5 – and Anywhere is the only festival which does not take any box office percentage from artists.
“We want affordable shows for audiences and for the ticket to see the act to be their biggest expense instead of the parking, the overpriced food and alcohol. . . Or the ticket fee,” Paul says.
This year, Anywhere has also invited small, independent performances spaces supporting artists to be part of the festival, with spaces in Moorooka, Yeerongpilly, Banyo and Fortitude Valley.
The event is also proudly supported by the Queensland Government.
“Our investment in Anywhere Festival supports artist jobs, development of new works and the delivery of accessible art and cultural experiences for residents and interstate and international visitors as part of Queensland’s 10-year Creative Together strategy,” Minister For The Arts, The Honourable Leeane Enoch MP, says.
Check out the full programme.
Anywhere Festival Brisbane is on from 19 July-4 August.
