The Brisbane Festival

What happens when 900 artists from all over the world spend more than two weeks in Australia's sunniest city? The Brisbane Festival is what. An eclectic parade of delights - theatrical, musical, visual and culinary - are bound for the Queensland capital for 17 days of artistic splendour for the Brisbane Festival 2008.

A cultural feast awaits, serving both local dishes and international cuisine. From Moscow comes renowned production Three Sisters directed by Declan Donellan and, in keeping with tradition, the Chekhov classic is performed entirely in Russian with English subtitles.

One of the signature performances is Kingdom of Desire from Taiwan. An epic production based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, it is set amid China's Warring States period and incorporates traditional Chinese opera with dancing and acrobatic fighting.

Closer to home is Big Square Eye, a multimedia artwork incorporating the talents of young people around Queensland, and Brisbane Backyards which hosts free events out in the backyards around Brissie in that neighbourly 'get together' fashion the city is famous for.

Up-and-comers have their own platform to strut their stuff with the festival within a festival, Under the Radar. Catch any one of the 130 acts, even if it is purely to wax loudly in later years on how you saw these future sensations when they were still counted as 'emerging talents'.

Kilian David

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