Welcome to Brisbane Festival 2008!

A great festival celebrates the making of art and the coming together of artists and audiences in a kaleidoscope of ideas that can be life changing.

A great festival is also about fun, exuberance, entertainment and sheer pleasure!

At Brisbane Festival 2008 we have tried to create a cultural and artistic environment that enables the community of Brisbane to experience exceptional theatrical and musical treasures that would otherwise not be possible; and we want you, our audience, to have the time of your life!

Declan Donellan’s production of Three Sisters, Wu Hsing Kuo’s production of The Kingdom of Desire, Barrie Kosky’s production of Liza Lim’s opera The Navigator, Peter Brook’s production of The Grand Inquisitor and Marie Chouinard’s magical perspective of new dance are some of the most extraordinary theatrical experiences that you will find in the world today.

They also reflect the changing culture of Brisbane as an international city, which welcomes artists from all over the world to Brisbane Festival 2008.

At the same time Brisbane Festival 2008 embraces the suburbs of this great city unlike any other festival in Australia through the free Across Brisbane programme to ensure that this festival is available to everyone who would like to participate.

We are often playing, quite literally,in your backyard….or pretty close to it!

Apart from the many wonderful Queensland artists appearing at Brisbane Festival 2008, there are also outstanding artists from all over Australia.

You can catch them at the world’s largest and most beautiful Spiegeltent in Queens Park, or in some of Brisbane’s best theatres, or even at  under the radar, Brisbane Festival’s rapidly growing fringe festival.  

We also welcome the many visitors who travel to Brisbane Festival to enjoy the culture of this place at such a wonderful time of the year.

I hope that you will find Brisbane Festival 2008 inspiring, joyful, entertaining, thought provoking and informative, but above all I hope that you find just one precious moment in this festival that will stay with you forever.

I look forward to your company.

Lyndon Terracini
Artistic Director, Brisbane Festival