From Bougie to Boogie Nights – Taittinger's VIP Festival picks

From Suzie Miller — celebrated Australian playwright behind Prima Facie and RBG: Of Many, One — comes the untold story of the AFLW's formation. In 2010, a report recommended a national women's league. Seven years of grit, passion, and fancy footwork later, it was born — a sensation the sports world could no longer ignore.

Barrack your heart out for this inspiring story of determination, legacy, and pride. Theatre written in mud, sweat, and belief.

Direct from London’s West End, sensational singers perform stunning harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs brimming with hits from Queen to Katy Perry and more.

With a real bar on stage, come drink in the ultimate feel-good show!

A unique celebration of country music and opera, featuring arias and songs by Puccini, Verdi, Slim Dusty, Troy Cassar-Daly, Dolly Parton and more.

The result? A foot-stomping, heart-stirring performance that bridges two musical worlds in a way that feels fresh, exciting, and downright fun.

This is a show that will leave you breathless. Visceral and high-octane, ESCAPE blends complex, moving architectural structures with multi-talented performers to create a blood-pumping and emotional multimedia experience. An undefinable blend of dance, stunt work, acrobatics, circus arts, and movement, ESCAPE is athletic and completely captivating.

Part crime drama, part psychological thriller, Scorched Earth probes a dark yet fundamental question: What right do we have to the land beneath our feet, and what are we willing to do to keep it?

Inspired by John B. Keane's The Field, audiences are drawn into an interrogation room where a detective and suspect dredge through the ghosts of a long-forgotten murder. Luke Murphy (Volcano) weaves story, striking visuals, and visceral movement into an interrogation of wanting, striving, and resenting. A poetic final chapter of reaching and failing leaves no doubt of the cost of success.

Exclusively at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art, Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of The Jim Henson Company is an immense and immersive journey through the creative process behind some of the most cherished characters and stories in screen history and popular culture.

Highlights include Fraggle Rock and Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, the treasured fantasy worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, the iconic characters of the Muppets, and the instantly recognisable residents of Sesame Street.

Unparalleled in scope, the exhibition will celebrate The Jim Henson Company's extraordinary legacy, highlighting the specialist work of Jim Henson's Creature Shop — creative studios in New York and Los Angeles where artists and makers revolutionise the art of puppetry.

From the writer of The Whale Rider, Witi Ihimaera, comes this new adaptation of the epic tale of Tiri Mahana, a 185-year-old matriarch, from her birth at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi to present-day Aotearoa.

With award-winning actors Miriama McDowell (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) and Nī Dekkers-Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Porou), audiences are invited to a play for the whole whānau where Tiri wants us all to remember that the good things, the right things in life, are worth fighting for.

Ocean in Concert features award-winning composer Steven Price’s original score, performed live by Camerata — Queensland's Chamber Orchestra, in perfect synchronisation with the film’s spectacular imagery and Attenborough's narration. Price’s epic score to Ocean captures the drama, savagery, and beauty of the ocean’s underwater world magnifying the film’s impact, amplifying both its wonder and its urgency. “After 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.” — Sir David Attenborough

Renowned for her elegant, elastic voice, Berlin-based, Danish-born singer, songwriter, producer, and classically trained pianist, Agnes Obel's long-awaited return to Brisbane marks her first show in Australia since her sold-out 2022 tour. Poised, melancholic and refined, this chamber pop concert promises an intimate, emotive experience.

Come alive with the dazzling Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, one of Australia’s most electrifying fireworks displays and an unforgettable night of community celebrations.

Experience Foti Fireworks’ incredible displays as Brisbane’s iconic skyline comes to life. Whether you see the show from the Festival Village at South Bank, find a spot along Brisbane River, or tune in to Triple M’s live broadcast or Channel Nine’s exclusive television coverage, this explosive start to Brisbane Festival is not to be missed!

Bright Nights by ANZ transforms the Brisbane River into a dazzling choreographed canvas of water, light, and sound with floating fountains, water screens, animated water features and jets shooting up to 80 meters high. Pierced by a stunning laser light show and with an original pop rock soundtrack, this bold installation fills the Festival Village, South Bank with colour, energy, and emotion. Free shows three times nightly throughout the Festival.

For six weeks in the summer of 1788, Mozart wrote in a fit of obsessive inspiration. With no commission or concert in mind, he composed without fear or favour, driven only by a personal fire to create. The result was a jubilant family of three symphonies that pull together all of Mozart’s powers of invention, complexity and refined melodic writing.