Cirrus@Austlit

'Weave your web and make your mark.

'Underneath a crafter’s cart lived a lively young arachnid. Fancy Long Legs was her name, and she was easily distracted.

'Fancy Long Legs is a brand-new glittery and vibrant musical adventure for children, based on a new picture book by Brisbane’s international tinsel and craft icon, Rachel Burke.

'Fancy Long Legs is the story of Fancy, a spider who loves to create but struggles to stay focused on her creative task of web-building. With the support of her friends, Fancy goes on a beautiful journey of self-discovery to find her own style and make something no one else can.

'This uplifting story takes a wholesome and relatable look at neurodivergence, offering a playful and glitter-covered adventure of acceptance, staying true to yourself and finding friends who love you and celebrate your differences.'

Source: La Boite Theatre.

'Being a 17 year old is awkward. 

'Being a gay 17-year-old cosplayer with a mild Disney Princess obsession, a TV celebrity as a best friend and a first date with a shy guy you met online takes awkward to the next level.

'IRL is fairytale meets fanfiction in the quest for ‘happily ever after’. It is a fierce and funny reflection of what it means to be a teenager searching for friendship, love and acceptance and trying to find your community.

'Alexei and his long-time internet crush, Thaddeus, are about to meet IRL (in real life) at the Supanova pop culture convention.

'In a moment of regrettable self-sabotage, Alexei assumes a false identity to test the authenticity of his would-be boyfriend.

'When Alexei’s best friend Taylor begins channelling the anti-capitalist vigilante superhero she plays on TV, the thin line between fantasy and reality wiggles wildly out of control.

'At the end of a very long, strange, cosplay-filled day, will the trio find the connections they’re each craving?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Jamie was abandoned as a baby in Sri Lanka – at least that’s what his adoptive mother Katherine told him. 

'Jamie’s fine with not knowing about his birth family but then he falls in love with Zahra, an anti-racism activist who tells him about the shady history of international adoption. Jamie starts to wonder: Why is Katherine so secretive? And where exactly is his adoption file? 

'Over one eventful family dinner, his story unfolds and unravels, dishing up themes of identity, love, truth, forgiveness and honouring the past. With more than one-quarter of Aussies born overseas and almost half with a parent born overseas, Cut Chilli, directed by Ari Palani, will spice up our appetite for new and culturally diverse stories.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Getting older is inevitable, but growing up takes courage.

'When Mark moved out of home for the first time his mum started writing him letters – just checking in, staying in touch, keeping a gentle hold on her son. Until one letter brings news no-one wants to hear.

'Today, alone in his apartment, on a quiet ordinary morning, Mark needs to try to make some sense of the path of his young life. He needs to work out how to go on with the day, his studies, the fragility of living. He needs us to hear his story, and the story of his family.

'A tender, exquisite monologue written and performed by a rising star, Thomas Weatherall, Blue takes us deep into the beauty, and sadness, of a young life at its new beginning.'

Source: Belvoir Street Theatre.

'“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike.”

'Corruption, hypocrisy, blackmail. Just another day in Canberra, the cold-blooded political heartland of Australia.

'An Ideal Husband is award-winning playwright Lewis Treston’s hilarious makeover of Oscar Wilde’s effervescent social satire that for all its melodrama and farce, offers poignant insight into human frailty. 

'Set in 1996, this adaptation asks why Australian politics constantly fails to keep up with the people it is supposed to represent. 

'Treston combines Wilde’s unmistakable style with a heavy dose of ‘90s nostalgia, mirroring romcoms of the era such as My Best Friend’s Wedding and Never Been Kissed. 

'This wild reworking of Wilde’s An Ideal Husband will not only appeal to political diehards and ‘90s tragics, but to anyone curious about how change occurs.'

Source: La Boite.

'Brisbane, 2022. Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books, life, love and the jagged bits in between.

'Dissecting each other’s lives seems the most natural thing in the world and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. 

'Best friends tell each other everything, don’t they? But each woman carries a complex secret and one weekend, without warning, everything comes unstuck.'

Source: La Boite.

'“We will not be silenced.”

'One stage, one microphone, countless young voices demanding to be heard.

'THE TIME IN NOW is a thrilling glimpse into the future as imagined by 10 switched-on and politically savvy young Queenslanders aged 12-17, that make up La Boite’s Young Artist Company.

'Real teenagers with real conviction, spanning diverse cultures, backgrounds and political views, will make you sit up and pay attention as they advocate for a better future.

'THE TIME IS NOW gives this young citizen’s assembly a stage and a platform to deliver their first political speeches, threading dance, dialogue and surprise cameo appearances among each powerful presentation.

'The inspired performance piece, developed in collaboration with trailblazing arts organisation All The Queen’s Men and co-created by Ari Palani, Aleea Monsour and David Burton, gives voice to a generation often silenced or dismissed.

'THE TIME IS NOW is an entertaining and exhilarating exercise in the power of energy and ideas and demonstrates once and for all that children should be seen and heard.

'Welcome to the future.'

Source: La Boite Theatre.

'Five acts. Five writers. One hot-take on Shakespeare you didn’t see coming. 

'No one escapes scrutiny as La Boite’s revitalised CAESAR trained the spotlight on itself in a sharp and playful production with a scorching modern script.

'Shakespeare’s iconic thriller is pulled apart and reassembled with wicked humour, irreverence and passion as five fierce non-binary and female-identifying playwrights cleverly clap-back at power, politics and the patriarchy.

'Presented with the bite of a satire, CAESAR delivers the laughs and gasps in equal measure.

'This new work featured a powerful cast of Queensland actors including Chenoa Deemal, Billy Fogarty, Giema Contini, Bryan Probets and Will Carseldine.

'If you like sharp comedy, edgy politics and sassy Shakespeare, this sizzling take on CAESAR is sure to slay. #spoileralert'

Source: La Boite.

'Naked & Screaming follows struggling new parents Emily and Simon. With Simon in LA for work, a sleep-deprived Emily is left alone to care for baby Dylan, triggering a chain reaction that will alter everyone’s lives.

'This Australian family drama, by award-winning playwright Mark Rogers (2019 Griffin Award, 2019 Patrick White Playwrights Award), takes a searing look at the dynamics of new parenthood and throws a dagger into the heart of relationships.'

Source: La Boite Theatre.

'Capricorn tells the story of a young First People’s couple at the end of their long term relationship. But we learn more about the individuals as fate brings them together again and again for Sorry Business, work commitments, and drunken rebounds forcing the pair to confront their conflicts as they search for their wants and needs. Through the lens of a doomed romantic relationship, Capricorn explores culture, sexuality, personal growth, and grief.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Jacob wants good grades, Albert wants to be taken seriously, Denzel wants to make a difference, Fetu wants to be a champion, Rangi wants a second chance, Darius wants to be one of the boys, Luis just wants everyone to get along, and they all want to get laid.

'Welcome to Brothers Book Club.

'Once a month, the boys meet at Book Club to discuss, study, help (and roast) one another. These boys are best friends – they’re brothers. Everything at Book Club is awesome, but, when Rangi returns, differences surface and the world within and around Book Club begins to unravel. 

'Through the books they read, they learn about themselves as individuals, as men, and as a brotherhood. 

'Traversing theatre, hip hop, poetry, and the boys’ imaginings of classic texts, Brothers Book Club is as inspirational as it is hilarious and unflinchingly honest.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A companion piece to La Boite’s critically acclaimed 2017 offering The Village, The Neighbourhood is an intimate story-telling experience that transports audiences across countries, borders, and oceans in search of a home; all from within the walls of the Roundhouse Theatre.

'The revelatory work tracks seven individual, real-life journeys from the experience of fleeing homelands, to seeking refuge and creating, fostering and discovering a new community (or neighbourhood) in Australia.

'It’s the anniversary of Vinnie’s death. His brother, 17-year old Preston is being visited by spirits— seemingly tormenting him while he sleeps. His sister, Akira buries her pain in her phone. Their father, Eric, is in denial and their mother, Abigail, is numbing her pain with drink, while Nan is coping with it all by talking… a lot.

'There’s no denying that Preston’s on the cusp of something otherworldly. The family’s disconnect from each other and the world has gone on long enough. It’s time to purge the past to embrace the present, if they’re to have a future, and an encounter with spirits might just be the catalyst they all need.'

Source: La Boite Theatre.

'Working out of a small shack in the isolated wilds of south-western Tasmania, George, an environmental scientist, is trying to save the world one Tassie Devil at a time. Since she was a small girl she has dreamt of halting the advance of climate change, but saving a species in the middle of nowhere will have to do, for now…'

Source: La Boite.

'Set in a garbage tip, this is the story of a young female bear that wants more for her tribe. Garbage sparkles and catches on beams from broken streetlights as One and her best friend Ursula get up to mischief and mourn the dank life they lead. The two spit rhymes on living under Human Hunter law and dream of the days when bears were free; eating fresh fish rather than packaged fish fingers. But what happens when One is given the opportunity to speak for her community? What happens when  fame knocks at the door?'

Source: Campbelltown Arts Centre.

'The Village showcases the cultural diversity of Australia and honours the courage, strength and determination of the women, men and children who have made Australia their new home. This interactive performance experience allows audiences to witness first-hand the verbatim stories of ordinary people who have found themselves in extraordinary situations and persevered to tell their life-changing stories.'

Source: La Boite.

'Set on the Sunshine Coast this hilarious play answers what it means to be an Asian woman living in Australia.

'For Pearl, a Chinese migrant operating a restaurant, it means sacrifice and struggling to connect with her very westernised children.

'For Zoe, the eldest child, it means approaching a crossroads in her life where she’s forced to choose between a career and a family.

'For Mei, the youngest child, it means being bullied at school and grappling with the desire to assimilate versus cultivating a unique identity.

'Two sisters at odds with each other and a mother harboring a secret that threatens to tear her family apart, Australian domesticity like you’ve never seen it before.'

(Production summary)

'A talented young boxer, Isa, is preparing for the biggest fight of his career. On the line is the national title and the promise of fame and riches beyond his wildest dreams. What unfolds is a modern-day fable of a Congolese boy orphaned by war and forced to become a child soldier by the very people who killed his family. His powerful left hook offers a new life in Australia, but his greatest obstacle is not his opponent – it’s his past.

'La Boite Artist-in-Residence Future D. Fidel writes with the undeniable force of authenticity. Fleeing the Congo as a child, he lived in a Tanzanian refugee camp for eight years before being granted refugee status in Australia. Prize Fighter is inspired by his own story and those of people he has known.

'We are thrilled to present in the lead role one of Queensland’s most talented young actors, Pacharo Mzembe (The Mountaintop, Underbelly), who brings years of boxing training to the stage.' (Production summary)

Adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's novel.

An exploration of the life and work of Samuel R. Delaney, partly biographical and partly through his novel Babel 17.