Elise. Writer & caffeine-based life form. Exploring my city and discovering its best kept secrets. Join me on my adventures!
30/12/2025
Under a sparkling chandelier in the QPAC Concert Hall, Southern Cross Soloists’ Wonder braided together compositions by Clara Schumann, her husband Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. The concert also included readings from a dramatised version of the trio’s letters, an interpretation of their complex relationship through dance, and the premiere of a brand new work.
Read my full review of this ambitious, multidisciplinary concert online now.
Photographed by Stephen Henry Under a sparkling chandelier in the QPAC Concert Hall, Southern Cross Soloists’ Wonder braided together compositions by Clara Schumann, her husband Robert Schuma…
29/12/2025
Prospero Arts closed the year with a semi-staged production of Cy Coleman’s sentimental sixties musical Sweet Charity in the QPAC Concert Hall.
This colourful and charming in-concert performance made the most of a smaller stage space with outstanding dance sequences and strong character performances. Read my full review online now 🎶✨
Loren Hunter as Charity Valentine (centre), photographed by Brit Mobbs Prospero Arts closed the year with a semi-staged production of Cy Coleman’s sentimental sixties musical Sweet Charity in the Q…
26/12/2025
A gold-medal new family comedy about Brisbane’s impending Olympics premiered at PIP Theatre earlier this month, packed with Australiana and absurdity.
The 2032 Games offer an exciting opportunity for big brother Jason and his swimming career, but 8-year-old Tracey is disgusted to discover that her local park has been closed as part of the development. Tracey loves her big brother, but how far would she go for what she believes in?
Read my full review online now 🥇🎭
(L to R) Amelia Slatter as Tracey, Meryn Cooper as Mum, and Hayden Burke as Coach. Imagery supplied. A highly topical local story, 8 More Years was a gold medal new family comedy about the impact o…
24/12/2025
Ad Astra Theatre Company opened their new home on Petrie Terrace with a production of Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale musical Into The Woods, featuring a large cast of talented independent artists.
Ad Astra’s Into The Woods marked the beginning of a new era: a large-scale production and cast to match their new, larger venue, but crafted and performed with the same intensity and dedication that audiences have come to expect from this top-notch Brisbane independent.
Read my full review online now.
The cast of Into the Woods. All imagery supplied by Ad Astra. Ad Astra have opened their new home on Petrie Terrace with a production of Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale musical Into The Woods, f…
22/12/2025
The Little Red Company's Christmas Actually returned to the BRISBANE POWERHOUSE in 2025, a cabaret-style confetti bomb of holiday cheer, noughties nostalgia, and grand romantic gestures.
Performed by four singers and a live band, Christmas Actually is a 90-minute celebration of the Love Actually soundtrack and weaves in the key beats of the movie and its characters in entertaining ways
Read my full review online now🎅🎶✨
Naomi Price in Christmas Actually. Imagery supplied by The Little Red Company Christmas Actually returned to the Brisbane Powerhouse in 2025, a cabaret-style confetti bomb of holiday cheer, noughti…
15/12/2025
"The kind of stories I wanted to share this year are urgent and relevant, but also stories that remind us that we are part of a community. We’re all in this together. We’re all on this planet together, and hopefully that makes us feel less alone."
Ahead of Observatory Theatre’s 2026 season launch, I sat down with Artistic Director & Producer Lachlan Driscoll to discuss Act 1 of the programming, nurturing new stories, and taking Observatory and audiences to new heights and new worlds while sharing distinctly local stories.
Read the full interview online now🔭✨🎭
Lachlan Driscoll. Image credit: Backstreet Brisbane Ahead of Observatory Theatre’s 2026 season launch, I sat down with Artistic Director & Producer Lachlan Driscoll to discuss Act 1 of the prog…
11/12/2025
The twelfth and final day of Backstreet Brisbane's 12 days of Christmas is about giving the gift of an experience, from workshops and at-home making to tickets, season passes, and subscriptions. ✨🎄🎁
Thanks for following along, and I wish you and yours a very happy holiday season!
If you’ve followed along with 12 Days of Christmas at Backstreet Brisbane – thank you! Supporting local means a lot to me and it’s great to see so many others with the same enthusiasm. The twelfth …
10/12/2025
Two dancers, a pedestal fan, and a whole lot of rice took the audience on an emotional journey in Buddy Malbasias' truly contemporary dance theatre piece at Metro Arts.
Drawing inspiration from the Filipino philosophy of bahala na – whatever happens, happens - Bahala/o was an ambitious and personal piece of storytelling, experimenting with form and performed with exuberant energy to leave a lasting impression.
Buddy Malbasias (L) and Clare Dark (R) perform Bahala/o, photographed by Georgia Haupt Two dancers, a pedestal fan, and a whole lot of rice took the audience on an emotional journey in Bahala/o, a …
10/12/2025
From Australia's oldest operating distillery to a wide range of craft beers, Day 11 of my annual 12 Days of Christmas gift guides focuses on local tipples you might like to gift or bring along to your celebrations. Cheers! ✨🎄🎁
There’s always plenty of champagne and six packs in our family fridge for Christmas (and usually heaps left over for New Year’s celebrations) but here are some local tipples you might like to bring…
09/12/2025
Day 10 of Backstreet Brisbane's annual 12 Days of Christmas is for the foodies! Holidays are so often centred around food, and it's a great gifting choice if the people you love have enough 'stuff' in their lives - from locally made sweet treats to fresh produce, check out the local businesses in today's gift guide for your food-loving loved ones ✨🎄🎁
Holidays are so often centred around food, and it’s a great gifting choice if the people you love have enough ‘stuff’ in their lives – from locally made sweet treats to fres…
08/12/2025
Day 9 of Backstreet Brisbane's annual 12 Days of Christmas is a gift guide full of goodies for the children in your family, whether they be two-legged, four-legged, or otherwise! ✨🎄🎁
Gifts and goodies for the children in your family, whether they be two-legged, four-legged, or otherwise! Works at Play A small family business based in Brisbane, Works at Play was started by Early…
07/12/2025
Day 8 of Backstreet Brisbane's annual 12 Days of Christmas is about gifts for the home. For art you can eat off, drink from, or hang on the walls to admire every day, look no further than today's list! ✨🎄🎁
For art you can eat off, drink from, or hang on the walls to admire every day, look no further than the brilliant Brisbane artists below! Bonnie Hislop A Brisbane-based creative with a focus on cer…
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I’m not sure where I heard that (I think the idea came from a TED talk event at the State Library) but, grounded in the romantic idea of being a tourist in your own city, I started Backstreet Brisbane in 2014 as the guide I wish I’d had. Coming from a hometown of less than one thousand, the sheer vastness and unknown of the city overwhelmed me initially and I stuck mainly to Queen Street until new friends took me outside my comfort zone to see and experience new things – wonderful bars and cafes tucked down alleys, parks and green spaces I might never have found, live music venues I would have been afraid to enter alone.
Whether you are in town for a few days or have lived here all your life, there is always something new and surprising to discover. The story of our city is constantly changing, and we are a part of it (which is why I also started Backstreet Brisbaners, a verbatim interview series with Brisbane’s brilliant community).
Backstreet Brisbane is now in its fifth year, and it has grown and evolved as I have, from cheap-as-chips student days to something resembling adulthood. Backstreet Brisbane has come to cover a broader range of lifestyle and events in our city – food and drink, things to see and do – and has developed a focus on performing arts, which is one of my great loves. If you’d like the best of Brisbane delivered to your inbox each month, you can sign up for the Backstreet Brisbane Bulletin here.
If you’ve read this far, thank you – I’ll continue to get to know Brisbane a little better, and these things are always more exciting with friends. I look forward to sharing these ongoing adventures with you.
