Elise. Writer & caffeine-based life form. Exploring my city and discovering its best kept secrets. Join me on my adventures!
23/07/2025
Passion Productions brings The Secret Garden Musical back to Brisbane thirty years after its Australian debut, but with more local feel.
Recently orphaned and sent to live with her reclusive uncle in a mysterious manor, Mary discovers a neglected garden and, with the help of new friends, breathes life back into it. As the garden flourishes, so do the hearts of those around her, a story of rejuvenation and the enduring human spirit.
Playing 12 – 27 July at Enoggera Performing Arts Centre
Ammi Johnson, Jeremiah Rees & Erin Lowry The Secret Garden 12 – 27 July 2025 Enoggera Performing Arts Centre Transport yourself to the moors of Yorkshire with The Secret Garden a Tony Awa…
21/07/2025
Presented by Paterson Productions, Thank You for the Music - The ABBA Show is an original theatrical production. This high-energy, feel-good celebration of ABBA’s iconic music will be brought to life by an all-Brisbane cast of professional singers, dancers, and musicians for an immersive night of nostalgia and pure entertainment.
Playing 24 - 27 July at Twelfth Night Theatre.
Image credit: Stageshots Thank You for the Music – The ABBA Show 24 – 27 July, 2025 Twelfth Night Theatre, Bowen Hills More than just a tribute act, this original theatrical production …
18/07/2025
Dr George Templeton and Ranger Harris are accustomed to isolation, working in a national park to protect endangered Tasmanian Devils. But now there’s an angry Irishman with a head injury tied up in their kitchen, a teenaged Girl Scout seeking refuge in the hut, and things are getting out of hand.
Foul-mouthed, razor-sharp, and slippery with blood and vomit, Cut & Run Productions' debut at PIP Theatre was both thought-provoking and violently funny. Read my full review online now.
(L to R) Matthew Filkins, Jett Robson, and Michaela Faux, photographed by Jasmine Prasser Thought-provoking and violently funny, Cut & Run Productions made their debut with Kathryn Marquet& #821…
16/07/2025
Samantha Hill’s new comedy She Works Hard For (No) Money, presented as part of Anywhere Festival Brisbane 2025, promises to serve up a series of riotous, razor-sharp vignettes that skewer the cult of the domestic goddess and the absurdity of unpaid labour.
Expect laughs, tears, and maybe a few cleaning tips — but don’t expect anyone else to book the babysitter.
Playing 24 July – 2 August 2025 at ‘The Precinct’, TC Beirne Building, Fortitude Valley
She Works Hard For (No) Money 24 July – 2 August 2025 ‘The Precinct’, TC Beirne Building, 315 Brunswick St. Mall, Fortitude Valley Grab your rubber gloves and a bottle of chardonnay — Samantha Hill…
14/07/2025
A lone maniac turns the Queensland police upside down in this riotous, razor-sharp adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo’s classic political farce, Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
Set in 1980s Brisbane during the Fitzgerald Inquiry this adaptation by Helen Strube and PIP Theatre, based on the translation by Ed Emery, places Queensland’s own turbulent political history under the microscope through the lens of Fo’s wildly absurdist humour.
Playing at PIP Theatre from 23 July - 2 August.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist 23 July – 2 August 2025 PIP Theatre, Milton A lone maniac turns the Queensland police upside down in this riotous, razor-sharp adaptation of Nobel Prize-winne…
10/07/2025
Tonight only, award-winning performer Lisa Woodbrook is playing Wynnum Fringe for the first time with her hit show MILLENNIAL: Hits of the 90s and 00s. The show celebrates the MILLENNIAL generation with an infectious dance-party and sing-along, featuring renditions of hit tracks by the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Robbie Williams, Beyoncé and many more.
6pm tonight (11 July) at The Augathella Spiegeltent – Wynnum Fringe
MILLENNIAL: Hits of the 90s & 00s 11 July 2025 The Augathella Spiegeltent – Wynnum Fringe Stop right now! Fringe World favourite Lisa Woodbrook is heading to Wynnum Fringe for the very firsttim…
09/07/2025
The Qld Garden Show — formerly the Queensland Garden Expo — returns to Nambour Showgrounds this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (11-13 July) for its 41st year.
The family friendly, grassroots event is for everyone, from passionate home gardeners and industry professionals to absolute beginners starting their gardening journey, bringing together more than 360 exhibitors across seven hectares, including 55 nurseries selling 50,000 plants per day.
The Queensland Garden Show 11 – 13 July 2025 Nambour Showgrounds, Coronation Avenue, Nambour The Queensland Garden Show — formerly the Queensland Garden Expo — returns for its 41st year with …
07/07/2025
Powerful in its raw, unabashed vulnerability, the world premiere of Dear Son offers an emotionally complex examination of First Nations masculinity and a deeply empathetic experience that any audience can connect with.
You can read my full review online now for Limelight.
Co-produced by Queensland Theatre and State Theatre Company South Australia, Dear Son is playing at the Bille Brown Theatre until 19 July.
Read the Limelight review
04/07/2025
Set deep in the wilds of Tasmania, The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek is a combustible mix of cabin fever and ecological dread. When the isolated worlds of zoologist Dr Georgina Templeton and Ranger Harris are rocked by two uninvited guests, the stage is set for a collision of ideologies, tempers, and secrets that cannot stay buried.
A howl of laughter and rage, deftly mixing comedy, commentary, and a damn good fist fight in exploring right, wrong, and whatever lies between.
Playing 9 - 12 July at PIP Theatre, presented by Cut & Run Productions.
The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek 9 – 12 July 2025 PIP Theatre, Milton The road to hell is paved with good intentions, right? This uniquely Australian story proves the apocalypse can be fu…
02/07/2025
Savoyards Musical Theatre Brisbane consistently creates community theatre of impressive quality, and this heartwarming production is no exception. Full of infectious energy and emotion, Come From Away showcases a wealth of local talent while reminding us to reach beyond fear to find hope, hospitality, and humanity.
You can read my full review online, and Come From Away is playing at Iona Performing Arts Centre until 5 July 💙💛
Photography by Sharyn Hall Savoyards’ production of Come From Away brings infectious energy and emotion to this story about human kindness and connection enduring in unimaginable circumstance…
25/06/2025
The cells on a cheek remember the kiss, and they remember the slap. Through a series of movement vignettes Zen Zen Zo's moving and immersive work Blushing explores the emotional side of physical touch and reminds us of the vitality and aliveness that come from being in contact with other people, whether in a football scrum or a lover's embrace or a theatre audience.
My full review is online now, and Blushing is playing until Sunday in Fortitude Valley🤍🩷❤️
Image credit: Georgia Haupt Zen Zen Zo’s Blushing is a moving and immersive work of physical theatre, exploring the emotional side of physical touch with a focus on the duelling forces of sha…
18/06/2025
Blue Roo Theatre Company’s original production Laughing Out Loud included comedy, music, and dancing. There were plenty of laughs and audience interaction in this hour-long performance of skits and sketches, and the ensemble cast seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the audience did.
Read my full review of Saturday's matinee performance at Queensland Multicultural Centre online now.
The cast of Laughing Out Loud take a bow. Imagery provided by Blue Roo Theatre Company Inc. Blue Roo Theatre Company Inc.’s original production Laughing Out Loud included comedy, music, and d…
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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.
