An awe-inspiring festival of all things queer, MELT sashays back to Brisbane Powerhouse promising an unforgettable line-up of more than 20 productions and events across 11 nights of revelry, kick-starting 17 May to coincide with IDAHOT – the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
Program highlights include: Share My Blankets – taking its audience on an experiential journey through and alongside Aly Lorén’s stories of coming into their queerness; Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra and special guests reclaiming pop classics for LGBTIQ+ audiences in Coupling; and the world’s hottest all-male boylesque stars, BRIEFS return with their crowd-pleasing Close Encounters – an epic show of galactic glamour, astro-athleticism and interstellar aerials.
After successful seasons in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, Gavin Roach returns with The Measure of a Man; follow a group of high school students at a catholic boarding school grapple with their sexuality in the contemporary LGBTI+ pop rock musical, Bare; and Icon meets Icon as five time Helpmann Award winner Paul Capsis reprises his role as Quentin Crisp in Resident Alien.
The showstopper MELT Beauty Pageant returns to crown this year’s most charismatic drag queen, drag king or trans beauty with help from an all-star judging panel; Gayming Night by the Hella Gay Game Collective assures a queer and inclusive gaming experience for the local gayming community; while Tragic Trivia offers an utterly outrageous night as Brisbane’s drag superstars take us through the colourful pages of the Queer herstory books for a pop culture comp with a difference.
Power and identity come face-to-face with contemporary ballet and live music in Turbine – an intimate and personal work by Collusion, while Robert Webb Robert sits down with writer Benjamin Law in How Not to be a Boy.
Bringing the festival to a triumphant close will be The Bowery Haus: Closing Party – a costume party celebrating inclusivity, self-expression and one of Australia’s most legendary queer icons, Leigh Bowery. Come as your interpretation of this Australian icon for this dazzling fashion and costume dance party featuring some of Brisbane’s best DJs.
The 2018 MELT Festival runs 17 – 27 May. For more information, visit: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org for details.
Image: Collusion presents Turbine (supplied)