The 2023 Adelaide Cabaret Festival program officially launches today, once again jam packed with exciting offerings. This year, marking the 23rd year of the Cabaret Festival, will feature 243 artists and musicians across 91 performances, including 13 world premieres and 20 Adelaide premieres.
This year’s Cabaret Festival has been curated by nine previous Artistic Directors, known as The Cabaret Collective. Julia Holt, David Campbell, Lisa Campbell, Kate Ceberano, Eddie Perfect, Ali McGregor, Julia Zemiro, Alan Cumming and Tina Arena have each brought their own flair to the 2023 program, bringing back some cabaret classics and presenting new and emerging artists.
In the lead up to today’s launch, I was fortunate to catch up with the Adelaide Cabaret Festival Executive Producer Alex Sinclair to discuss the program. But what is it about this festival that draws in the audiences year after year?
“The nature of cabaret itself draws people in. It encapsulates such a broad range of artistry from a lot of genres. We see jazz, comedy, dance, musical theatre, and the really true form of Weimar cabaret: intimate cabaret. The Cabaret Festival for twenty three years has seen it all; it has evolved with each artistic director and has encompassed so many wonderful performers.”
Alex went on to tell me what it is that she personally loves about the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
“There is nothing like it – it is the biggest festival like it in the world. The opportunity to create a festival that speaks to so many different areas of the cabaret art form is so exciting. We can see it in the program we have developed for this year. We have works in development, or we see Eddie Perfect talk about his ideas for writing for the stage through to big performances like with Kate Ceberano and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. We get to see so much packed into the Festival and I just love it.”
Working alongside nine previous Artistic Directors, I was curious to hear about the process to curate this year’s program.
“It’s been terrific. They are just the most wonderful people and the thing that was evident right from the outset when we came up with this crazy idea was that all of them have and do hold the Festival in a special place in their hearts. It was really obvious to me from the outset how much they love the Cabaret Festival and how delighted they were to jump right back into it and put a program together. It’s been a wonderful experience for me and you can really feel and see what each of their passions are in what each one has brought to the program.”
This year’s program also features several free events open to anyone and everyone.
“We really do want to make the festival accessible and open to all. We take the feedback from our audiences each year, and the inclusion of more free programming was something that people asked us to provide, so we have really made an effort to bring that this year. Trevor Jones is also hosting a musical theatre trivia night as well as his usual nightly appearance at the piano bar. There is a lot to participate in as well as to see. LGBTIQ+ Elders Dance Club, that Julia Zemiro introduced in 2019, is returning. That is just a beautiful space for the LGBTIQ+ elder community and allies to come together and have an afternoon disco with a cup of tea and sing some cabaret tunes with Carol Young.”
The Class of Cabaret returns this year along with several ‘works in development’. I asked Alex about the importance of the Cabaret Festival to provide a platform for these young artists to develop and work shows and introduce them to the world of cabaret
“It’s hugely important. That is something that we really go into each year’s program at the front of our minds. The Class of Cabaret program was something that was introduced by David and Lisa Campbell. It has evolved and is now part of the SACE program, so it is accredited. We have seen some wonderful artists come out of that project supported by incredible mentors and musicians that help them along the way. With the Frank Ford commission, which was specifically set up to support South Australian cabaret artists to create works, you can see that as part of the development showcase. We also commission new works and try to bring in as much new work as possible each year. We are really proud that we can create that legacy here in Adelaide with the Cabaret Festival.”
Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2023 opens on June 9 and runs until June 24.
Tickets on sale March 27 from 10am at adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au .
Interviewed by Ben Stefanoff
Read our interview with Co Artistic Director Kate Ceberano here
Read our interview with Co Artistic Director Ali McGregor here
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