The 2024 Midsumma Festival Melbourne programme is here, featuring more than 250 events showcasing queer culture and local, interstate and international artists.
The programme is made up of performances, talks and social events, bringing a kaleidoscope of preeminent queer arts and cultural festivities.
In 2024 there are a range of Festival Hubs across Melbourne, dedicated to providing a diverse showcase of events with a goal of enriching the Midsumma experience.
At The Butterfly Club, attendees can expect the likes of ‘The Search’, where Jess McAvoy performs a one-person rock musical about finding one’s true voice; and ‘Oh Yuck It’s Me’. The Green Room Award-nominated show about finding a will to live, even when the world is crumbling.
Theatre Works in St Kilda will be abuzz with eight shows including ‘I Want It That Gay’, an irreverent look at pop culture and how it shapes what we see and who we’re allowed to be; and ‘The Sour Glitch Refusal’, a pantomime, non-binary escape room experience where wordplay is foreplay, sense is nonsense, clues and costumes, and the escape is in the doing.
Gasworks Arts Park has been the south side hub for Midsumma for more than a decade. The 2024 programme is diverse and inclusive, featuring ‘Rouge’, a circus for grown-ups blending acrobatics, operatic cabaret and tongue-in-cheek burlesque; and ‘Woman Of SALT’, documenting one woman’s journey through life, love, and drag.
Over at Abbotsford Convent, audiences are invited to join a creative journey with events like ‘Animalising; Becoming Animal / Intense / Imperceptible’, where striking and intense aesthetics are showcased in a work delving into themes of sexlessness and nakedness; and ‘Wise Words’, featuring a line-up of prominent and talented queer writers, performers and activists talking about what it means to be a queer woman (trans and non-binary inclusive).
The Motley Bauhaus is newly renovated, with a focus on the weird, wonderful and Motley. Highlights for Midsumma include ‘Ruff Trade’ from Out Cast Theatre – a darkly comic tale of Elizabethan sex workers and their imagined part in the untimely death of Christopher Marlowe; and ‘Thank God You’re Queer’, throwing LGBTQIA+ comics in the deep end of improv comedy.
Midsumma Westside brings the LOLs and the cabaret, with ‘Queer Comedy Gala’ featuring Kirsty Zebeck as emcee; and ‘YUMMY: Joy Machine’, an outrageous and joyful drag variety show with world-class performers.
Lastly there’s Chapel Off Chapel, where Ziegfeld Boy reimagines the Hollywood Blonde for a new generation with saucy songs in ‘Bombshell’; and ‘Tash York: Love That For You’, an original comedy cabaret backed by The Red Red Wines.
New in 2024 is Queer PHOTO, a first of its kind collaboration comprising artist commissions of large-scale, outdoor artworks, gallery exhibitions, and an interactive public performance programme.
“Our Midsumma hubs stand as the beating heart of our festival, weaving a tapestry of inclusivity and artistic expression,” Midsumma CEO Karen Bryant says. “These spaces, each a sanctuary for creativity, are a testament to the collaborative spirit of our LGBTQIA+ community and our dedicated partners. Together, we create a stage where every story is heard, every voice is amplified, and every heart finds its resonance.”
The major Midsumma Events are the Midsumma Carnival (21 January at Alexandra Gardens), Midsumma Pride March (4 February at Fitzroy Street and Catani Gardens) and Victoria’s Pride (11 February at Smith Street and Gertrude Street).
Tickets are on sale now.
Midsumma Festival 2024 takes place from 21 January-11 February in Melbourne.
This story originally appeared on our queer sister site, FROOTY.
