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The 21st Adelaide Cabaret Festival kicked off last night with the sold-out red-carpet event, The Variety Gala at Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre.

Olivier and Tony Award winning Scottish/American actor and cabaret icon, Alan Cumming - the festival’s first international Artistic Director – proudly serves up his personal ‘love letter’ to Australia with this year’s star-studded program, including 180 artists in 105 performances over 12 dazzling days and nights!

The world’s largest cabaret festival features 10 world premieres, four Australian premieres and 10 Adelaide exclusives by a large contingent of Australian artists and performers from the USA, and Canada.

Shining the spotlight on Australian talent and some international friends, audiences will be shocked, delighted, teased, and tickled by classic and contemporary cabaret performances with this year’s program traversing the cabaret genre – from old-world French glamour to penis painting, pie-floaters, and everything in between.

In his debut as Artistic Director, Alan Cumming enthuses “I am so excited to finally see this much-loved winter festival come to life and share the special energy of live performance with audiences over the next three weeks. This program is a temple to my love and nostalgia for Australia - the people, the spirit, the adventure, the fusion of high and low that I have learned and stolen from and hold dear in my heart. I hope you Australians enjoy this Scot’s cabaret love letter to you.

“I look forward to seeing audiences experience the joy, laughter, cheekiness and splendour that only cabaret can deliver. I will be bringing a version of my New York cabaret bar, Club Cumming to audiences - a bacchanalian celebration dance party with performances, games, and surprises!         Let’s get this party started.”

Alan Cumming will DJ every night of the festival at the late-night Club Cumming, bringing a touch of New York to Adelaide in The Famous Spiegeltent - limited tickets are still available. The final night of the festival will see Alan perform the world-premiere of his own show, Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, at Festival Theatre before touring the show nationally.

In an Adelaide Exclusive on the first weekend of the festival, Australia’s next generation of First Nations artists will perform in Deadly Hearts - celebrating Australian Indigenous music. The incredible line-up includes multi award winning musician and artist, Dan Sultan; 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards nominee, Tia Gostelow; 2020 Music Vic award winner for Best Emerging Artist, Kee’ahn; and 2019 Triple J Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative winner, Aodhan.

In an Australian first, Young Talent Time (YTT) 50th Anniversary Reunion Special will nod to nostalgia at Festival Theatre on Saturday, 19 June with Johnny Young himself hosting the show. Alumni including Beven Addinsall, Karen Knowles, Jane Scali, Philip Gould, Steven Zammit, Joey Dee, Lorena Novoa and Nicole Cooper will grace the stage and relive the magic of YTT for one night only.

AFI Award winning Hollywood actor Bojana Novakovic performs throughout the festival with an ever-changing cast of surprise guests in the improvisational experiment The Blind Date Project. Audiences will be surprised by a celebrity guests at each performance… who could be the next blind date?

Adelaide Festival Centre Chief Executive and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier adds “South Australia’s favourite winter festival is back and better than ever with a program that celebrates the festival’s 21-year-old history and showcases some of Australia’s best performers in thought-provoking shows. We look forward to welcoming patrons back to our venues to be entertained this winter.

Produced and presented by Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Cabaret Festival has grown from modest beginnings in 2001 to become Australia’s major winter festival and the largest cabaret festival in the world. Previous Artistic Directors of the festival include Julia Holt, David Campbell, Kate Ceberano, Barry Humphries, Eddie Perfect, Ali McGregor and Julia Zemiro.

The festival has been a platform for shows and performers who have achieved critical acclaim and featured world-renowned artists including Ms Lisa Fischer, Kristen Chenoworth, Idina Menzel, Dita Von Teese and Patti Lupone to name a few.

For more information and tickets go to adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au  

Image: The final night of the festival will see Artistic Director, Alan Cumming perform the world-premiere of his own show, Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, at Festival Theatre before touring the show nationally. Credit Christopher Boudewyns

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