Five must-see Brisbane Festival events that will stay with you long after the curtain falls
Brisbane Festival is back this September to light up the city with colour, music and spectacle – and this year’s program is stacked with experiences that will move, challenge and surprise you in equal measure. From pop-up cabaret bars soaked in 1920s grandeur to daring new dance productions and groundbreaking world premieres, here are five events that you won’t want to miss.
The Chronicles – Thomas Dixon Centre, September 10–13
Twelve extraordinary dancers channel the arc of life itself in The Chronicles – an electrifying new dance work that blends Robin Fox’s pulsing electro-acoustic score with children’s choir Voices of Birralee and live vocals from Oliver Mann. What begins as a whisper of embryonic motion erupts into surges of raw physical energy before circling back to stillness, charting a journey that mirrors life itself. Guided by choreographer Stephanie Lake – one of Australia’s most daring and decorated dance-makers – the production carries her signature mix of explosive dynamism and lyrical reflection. The Chronicles wrestles with time, mortality and the inevitability of change, exploring what it means to live, and ultimately to let go. Secure your seats via the Brisbane Festival website.
Milestone – QPAC, Tuesday September 9
Celebrated photographer and performance artist William Yang has spent a lifetime capturing Australia through his lens, and in Milestone he turns that focus on himself. Accompanied by Camerata performing a live score by Elena Kats-Chernin, William Yang shares photographs and memories that explore family ties, queer identity and creative legacy. With warmth, wit and unflinching honesty, he offers an intimate portrait of his own life lived alongside decades of cultural and social transformation. Book your seats to this incredible one-night-only performance here.
Bad Nature – Brisbane Powerhouse, September 3–7
Dance collides with technology in Bad Nature, a world-premiere collaboration of rare scale and ambition. Twelve performers from Australasian Dance Collective and the Netherlands’ Club Guy & Roni move through a constantly shifting environment where sound, light and kinetic design shape the stage itself. Created by Dutch artist Boris Acket, the set pulses like a living landscape, while costumes by avant-garde label Maison the Faux heighten the sense of transformation. Set to be dance at its most daring, Bad Nature takes audiences on a trip into a shape-shifting realm where technology and humanity wrestle it out. Tickets are on sale now here.
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Gem by L.A. Dance Project – QPAC, September 4–7
Gems by L.A. Dance Project unites three luminous works from choreographer Benjamin Millepied, performed in full for the very first time. Across Reflections, Hearts & Arrows and On the Other Side, each piece in the trilogy channels the qualities of a precious stone, transforming brilliance into bold contemporary movement. More than a decade in the making and staged in collaboration with Van Cleef & Arpels, this groundbreaking performance continues the legacy of Balanchine’s Jewels while carving out its own dazzling chapter in dance history. Tickets are selling fast – book your seats here.
GATSBY at The Green Light – Twelfth Night Theatre, September 2–28
Bowen Hills’ Twelfth Night Theatre transforms into a roaring speakeasy for GATSBY at The Green Light. Expect sequins, champagne and scandal as aerialists, singers and dancers sweep you into Scott Fitzgerald’s world of love, excess and abandon. It’s a century since The Great Gatsby first leapt from the page – now you’re invited to party like it’s 1925 at The Green Light – a Jazz Age nightclub where vaudeville artistry collides with modern spectacle. Ready to sip a martini and be whisked away to the Roaring Twenties? Book your seats here.
Visit the Brisbane Festival website to view the 2025 program and to book tickets.
This article was written in partnership with our good friends at Brisbane Festival.