Perth International Cabaret Festival returns with biggest and brightest program yet

Perth International Cabaret Festival (PICF) is set to return in 2024, taking over His Majesty’s Theatre from Monday, June 10, to Sunday, June 23.

Running across two action-packed weeks in the heart of the city, the program features a collection of powerhouse Australian performers, including Caroline O’Connor, Vika & Linda Bull (pictured above), Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier, Tom Burlinson and more.

Perth International Cabaret Festival Artistic Director Michael Griffiths says that the 2024 festival showcases the finest local, national, and international cabaret voices. “I couldn’t be more proud to have helped bring these artists together under one majestic roof, and look forward to celebrating 10 extraordinary nights of cabaret with you in June,” he said.

Running across multiple spaces within the iconic theatre, The Main Auditorium is set to come alive with international musical theatre legend Caroline O’Connor and her world premiere, My Musical Life, with highlights from her award-winning career that has spanned from Broadway to the West End and across the globe.

Vika and Linda Bull will also premiere their new show, An Evening With Vika & Linda. Accompanied by close collaborator Cameron Bruce on piano, this beautifully pared-back concert will showcase the rich beauty of their voices together and their remarkable creative journey.

Returing after a performance at Perth Fesitval Writers Weekend in February, Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier are set to be another highlight of this year’s program. Based on Conway’s book, their show Songs from the Book of Life delves into the behind-the-scenes details of one of the most powerful and iconic women in the Australian music industry.

Simply Brill: The Teens Who Stole 60s Rock n Roll stars acclaimed cabaret performers Amelia Ryan, Michaela Burger, and Michael Griffiths in a triumphant celebration of the teenage songwriters such as Carole King, Neil Sedaka, and many more who were housed in the Brill Building in New York to write the iconic hits of the 1960s.

Tom Burlinson: Still Swingin’ is a dazzling, energetic show highlighting a montage of swing classics made famous by the great superstars such as Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Nat ‘King’ Cole, Dean Martin, and of course Frank Sinatra.

Festival favourite, the Closing Night Gala, also returns with a brand-new line-up of artists that have been included within the 2024 festival.

Gina Williams AM & Guy Ghouse: Kooma Koort is a free event from WA’s beloved duo, presented in part Noongar and part English and suitable for the whole family.

Festival venue, On the Boards, a pop-up venue where the performance and the audience are both on the stage of His Majesty’s Theatre with the audience seated at cabaret tables, returns in 2024.

Kristal West: Tribute to Dr. Eddie and Dr. Bonita Mabo is set to be a highlight at the unique performance space this year. Kristal, the granddaughter of legendary First Nations’ activists Drs. Eddie and Bonita Mabo, pays tribute to her late grandparents and sings to their fight for black rights and their pride in language, culture and identity.

Sisters of Invention: You Ready For This? features an all-female pop group from South Australia who are determined to challenge society’s preconceived ideas about who can be a pop star. Using original songs and stories of lived experiences of their disabilities, this talented quartet will astound audiences with their ‘top-notch pop songs’.

At the Dress Circle Bar, Carla Lippis: Dark Ritual will take the audience on a journey through a dream world of girl gangs, femme fatales, scream queens, late-night danger and romance.

In the popular Downstairs at the Maj cabaret room, Glynis Traill-Nash: In These Shoes details Glynis’ double life as a fashion writer and editor by day and a jazz singer by night.

Direct from New York, Mark Nadler: Cole Porter After Dark stars internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning cabaret performer Mark Nadler as he explores the wit, the romance, and the life of arguably the greatest of American songwriters, Cole Porter.

Christina Bianco: Crowd Control features the internationally acclaimed star of stage and screen, Christina Bianco, as she channels your favourite vocalists and pop-culture personalities in her uncanny impressions.

One of Melbourne’s finest cabaret artists, a jazz singer, community activist, and gender transcendent diva, Mama Alto makes her long overdue return to Perth with Mama Alto: Transcendent.

From a nomadic childhood to some of the best stages around the world, Brendan Hanson explores his extraordinary creative journey and presents the stories about the influential men throughout his life in Brendan Hanson: Leave it to the Keeper. The Songs My Fathers Taught Me.

Based on her podcast of the same name, singer, comedian, and radio presenter Penny Shaw revisits her tumultuous teenage years through the iconic music of 1984 in Penny Shaw: Diary of a (Teenage) Diva from Podcast to Cabaret!

Joe Louis Robinson: Eurovisionary is a fabulous musical tour of the most bizarre phenomenon on the planet, the Eurovision Song Contest. Joe opens the Euro-songbook to unearth some original arrangements and solve some of Eurovision’s biggest mysteries, like, Why is Australia in Eurovision? Where is San Marino? And why does everyone hate the UK?

Following sold-out seasons at ’23 Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Sydney Festival, international cabaret artist and PICF Artistic Director Michael Griffiths presents a sinful evening of songs of love and shame with Michael Griffiths: It’s A Sin: Songs of Love and Shame, drawing from the Pet Shop Boys playlist and the trials of ‘coming out’ in the 90s.

With an ever-changing line-up of visiting superstars and local heroes, you are guaranteed that no two nights are ever the same in Uplate Downstairs.

The 2024 program also includes a variety of free community events proudly supported by Lotterywest and City of Perth, which will be announced in a few weeks.

Perth International Cabaret Festival was established in 2019, with the inaugural festival staged at His Majesty’s Theatre in June 2021. The Festival aims to deliver a high-quality program dedicated to the pure art form of cabaret that includes the full range of cabaret styles, honours many cultures, and contributes to the great Australian storytelling landscape.

Perth International Cabaret Festival (PICF) hits His Majesty’s Theatre from Monday, June 10 to Sunday, June 23, 2024. For more info and to buy tickets, head to www.perthcabaret.com.au