AusLeisure

Opportunities for cabaret and music theatre artists trained by the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) to perform in Perth are set to be enhanced with the inaugural Perth International Cabaret Festival (PICF) to be held in June next year.

As reported by ArtsHub, the festival's name, and its winter placement, suggest it is well-placed to share international guests with Adelaide Cabaret Festival (running from 11th to 26th June 2021), Melbourne Cabaret Festival (also held annually in June) and Sydney Cabaret Festival (3rd to 12th July 2021).

To be held at His Majesty’s Theatre from 19th to 27th June, the new festival is the brainchild of Ali Welburn, the founder of Limelight Consulting (a bespoke arts PR and marketing consultancy) and Graham Lovelock (a strategic communications specialist) who have taken on co-Executive Producer roles.

In a joint statement, Lovelock and Welburn said they struck on the idea of starting a cabaret festival in Perth after realising that Perth is the "only major capital city - and therefore WA the only Australian state” - currently lacking a dedicated cabaret festival in its annual arts calendar mix.

Welburn advised "we were as surprised as everyone we talked to about this when we identified the gap in the market, especially considering how well received festivals in WA are.

"And, once we started talking to others in the community and our arts contacts, we realised we could do something to change that so we set about making it happen.”

Neither Hobart, Darwin nor Canberra are currently home to an annual cabaret festival, through Hobart's Festival of Voices features a number of cabaret artists in its program each year. The Queensland Cabaret Festival is on now, running until this weekend.

Local performers have welcomed the announcement of a cabaret-focused festival next year.

Jessica Herbert, Band Manager of the Perth Cabaret Collective, noted “we are delighted to hear that the Perth Cabaret Festival will be going ahead in 2021.

"Every major city in Australia has its own Cabaret Festival except for Perth, so I think it's about time that we had one to call our own.

"There is a huge cabaret scene filled with exceptionally talented performers in WA and we’re excited to have a festival that’s all about us.”

PICF's Interim Chair, John Poulsen, said the new festival would be a much-needed aid to social connection after the challenges of 2020, commenting “cabaret honours the great tradition of storytelling, and more particularly, storytelling set to music. As an artform it is admired and performed globally with cabaret festivals in major cities held annually around the world. And now, we will have a cabaret festival here in Perth.

"Together with an enthusiastic board made up of people with arts, community, business and governance expertise, and our very talented executive team, I am delighted to announce the arrival of the Perth International Cabaret Festival.”

As well as Poulsen, a business coach, strategist and leadership facilitator, the inaugural festival board includes theatre-maker, writer and director Jay Emmanuel; Melbourne-based producer, mentor and arts advocate Laura Milke Garner; the co-director of Cullen Macleod Lawyers, Catriona Macleod, and others.

The new festival’s founding Artistic Director is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Image: Perth Cabaret Collective has welcomed the news of 2021's Perth International Cabaret Festival. Credit: Facebook.

Related Articles

23rd October 2020 - Survey shows over 400 Australian Live Music Businesses face imminent closure

22nd October 2020 - Festival promoters call for Federal Government insurance scheme

14th October 2020 - Industry comes together to assess impact of COVID-19 on the events and entertainment industry

14th October 2020 - Live entertainment industry counts the cost of COVID

4th October 2020 - Tourism Recovery Program delivers direct support to nearly 1,000 Western Australian operators

3rd October 2020 - Perth jazz festival to go ahead in November

28th September 2020 - Kung Fu classic goes Noongar-style to open Perth Festival 2021

25th September 2020 - Billion-dollar partnership to transform central Perth

18th September 2020 - Busselton music festival to use rotating main stage to be COVIDSafe

6th August 2020 - Western Australian Government announces $76 million arts and culture recovery package

11th June 2020 - Albany Entertainment Centre becomes Western Australia’s first theatre to reopen

3rd June 2020 - 2020 Impact Report confirms public value of Perth Festival

19th March 2020 - New landmark sculpture for Perth

18th March 2020 - Perth Festival supports Live Performance Australia’s call for immediate economic stimulus

12th December 2019 - New partnership aligns Perth Theatre Trust and Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts

3rd November 2019 - Perth Festival releases 2020 program

30th May 2019 - Study shows Perth festival has major impact on community spirit and arts initiatives

3rd February 2019 - Perth Festival set to deliver a number of world premieres 

11th May 2018 - $6.5 million allocated for refurbishment of Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre

18th August 2015 - New Perth Theatre Trust partnership focuses on arts for young people

18th July 2011 - Restoration work completed on Perth’s historic His Majesty’s Theatre facade

30th July 2010 - 2010 Helpmann Awards venue and new Cabaret Award announced

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.