Brisbane Festival has revealed the full program for Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank – an expansive day-to-night destination bringing together major productions, free experiences and nightly spectacle in one riverside precinct from 4–26 September.
Home to the Festival’s Opening Night celebrations and one of Brisbane’s premier Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust viewing locations, the precinct also features Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Bright Nights by ANZ, Giant Sing Along, wellbeing experiences, workshops, family activities, conversations and live music.
Audiences can discover something new from first light until well after dark, with registrations now open for workshops and selected activities to help festivalgoers plan their Festival Village experience. Visit www.brisbanefestival.com.au/festival-village-south-bank to find out more.
Each morning begins with opportunities to move, reflect and connect. Audiences are invited to welcome the day through the weekly Sunrise Ceremony: Bikki Wantimaa, honouring the lands on which Brisbane Festival takes place, before easing into a rotating program of weekday wellbeing sessions including yoga, sound healing, breathwork and pilates. The global phenomenon DAYBREAKER invites audiences to greet the day through high-energy DJ sets, dance and community, while Wake Up & Sing fills the Village with performances from Latin and Auslan choirs. Wake Up with the Con offers a rare glimpse inside the daily practice of Queensland Conservatorium students as percussionists, jazz ensembles, brass players and string musicians rehearse in the open air.
Brisbane Festival has welcomed Verso Projects. as the new naming rights partner of Festival Village, South Bank, with the partnership supporting the precinct as a vibrant destination for audiences to gather throughout the Festival.
Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank reaches full stride throughout the day with an interactive program designed to encourage participation as much as performance. At its centre, Giant Sing Along invites audiences of every age to step up to one of 32 microphones and add their voice to a joyful, ever-evolving community choir. Created by acclaimed Montreal studio Daily tous les jours, the interactive installation features a crowd-pleasing playlist spanning soul classics through to contemporary favourites, with Brisbane audiences helping choose the final songs. Equal parts performance, participation and celebration, it promises to become one of Festival Village’s most uplifting gathering points.
Across the Village Green, audiences can drop into free dance sessions ranging from Bollywood and belly dancing to Hip Hop, Latin and line dancing. An expansive workshop program invites curious minds to try everything from puppetry with Dead Puppet Society and circus skills with Flipside Circus to African dance, Queensland Ballet workshops and collaborative creative experiences inspired by language, movement and visual art.
Families take centre stage with a rich mix of performances and hands-on activities designed for young festivalgoers. Indigenous-led contemporary circus Living Sculptures: How the birds got their colours shares First Nations storytelling through acrobatics and movement, while children can dance with ABC favourite Dance with Tom, discover Polynesian language and music with Tui and Friends and take part in free creative workshops throughout the Festival. A dedicated Family Fun Day supported by Brisbane Airport on Sunday 20 September will bring many of these experiences together in one vibrant celebration, with performances, workshops and activities running throughout the Village.
Ideas are equally at home in Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank, with the Talks of the Town series bringing together artists and creative leaders from across the Festival for lively conversations exploring performance, culture and contemporary life. The Village will also host two special performances of Generations and Dynasties, with one exploring the legacy of Uncle Graham Brady and Jungaji, and another celebrating the musical lineage of Deline, Naurita and Merindi Briscoe. Meanwhile, Musical Mantras with Camerata offers reflective Sunday morning performances beneath Brisbane’s spring skies.
At the heart of the Village, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent hosts a season of standout productions, from the Olivier Award-nominated, West End hit, The Choir of Man, and Opera Queensland’s acclaimed Australian work Are You Lonesome Tonight, to family favourite The Listies: This Show is a Joke. Nearby, Piano Man celebrates Queensland musical talent through an ever-changing lineup of guest performers, while live bands and DJs keep the Village Green buzzing each evening before audiences gather for Bright Nights by ANZ, the Festival’s spectacular nightly display of fountains, waterscreens, lasers and soaring water jets choreographed to an exclusive soundtrack by The Veronicas.
Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank will also offer one of Brisbane’s premier Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust viewing experiences, with one of the city’s largest licensed viewing locations as the annual spectacle unfolds across the river. Far from signalling the end of the evening, fireworks give way to another night of live music, Giant Sing Along, DJs and Bright Nights by ANZ, keeping the precinct alive long after the final shell has faded from the sky.
Verso Projects. Festival Village, South Bank is open throughout Brisbane Festival from 4–26 September. Most activities are free, with selected workshops requiring advance registration.
Full program details and registration information are available at brisbanefestival.com.au.
