Local, interstate, and international artists will present more than 200 events at Midsumma, and the 2023 festival features a range of festival hubs across Melbourne, dedicated to providing a diverse showcase of events.
A new hub for the festival is Victorian Pride Centre, presenting a programme of events which connect, support, and amplify LGBTQIA+ voices. Highlights include ‘Cheers Queers!’, featuring comics from across Melbourne’s queer comedy scene in a new line-up each night; ‘Piano Bar X Pride Centre’, a night of drag fabulousness and singalongs; Trans & Gender Diverse Clothes Swap; and ‘Exhibition – The Making Of The Victorian Pride Centre’, a free exhibition exploring the last 100 years of LGBTQIA+ history in Victoria and the development of the Pride Centre.
St Kilda institution Theatre Works is also a festival hub and will be buzzing with seven ground-breaking shows across three performance spaces, in a programme embracing and celebrating the whole rainbow community. Highlights at Theatre Works include ‘Queer Garden’, an eclectic programme of queer artists; and part cooking show and part reclamation of an act of violence, ‘BURGERZ’ by Travis Alabanza.
'Cheers Queers!'
For more than a decade, Gasworks Arts Park has been the south side hub for Midsumma. Its 2023 offering spans outdoor circus, cabaret, comedy, visual arts, live music, and twilight craft markets. Highlights include ‘Code Of Conduct’, an award-winning play which is both deeply personal and ripped from the headlines; ‘Hot Summer Nights!’, a circus cabaret hosted by Tash York and featuring some of Australia’s finest cabaret and circus performers; and ‘Bleeding Heart Radicals’, the first exhibition for Sebastian Passions, queer kiwi working and living in Melbourne.
Abbotsford Convent is a place of arts, culture and learning. This year there will be an array of artists sharing work which champions creativity, inclusivity, wellbeing, and community. Convent highlights include ‘Fountain’, an orchestrated performance about approaching the world and the self with fluidity; ‘A Composting Cabaret’ starring Dandrogyny and Betty Grumble who present a joyful landscape of performance offerings; and ‘ROPETIMES’, a workshop in rope bondage and navigating intimacy, pleasure, and consent.
CBD gem The Butterfly Club has plenty of shows, award-winning foyer bars, and an enormous collection of kitsch. ‘Cherry’ transports audiences back to 2008 when ‘I Kissed A Girl’ by Katy Perry comes ‘Rage’ and Sarah’s obsession begins; and ‘Liz And Mil Walk Into A Bar’ is a raucous sex comedy doubling as a tender exploration of queer friendship and community.
Newly renovated, proudly independent and inclusive multi-disciplinary arts space The Motley Bauhaus focuses on the weird, wonderful and Motley. ‘Le Freak’ is the retelling of sideshow from the inside by trans, queer, disabled and sex worker performers; and ‘The Last Brunch’ is a delectable new musical following Bea who is invited to brunch by her ex-boyfriend Brandon who announces his engagement.
'A Composting Cabaret'
Midsumma Westside presents ‘Queer On Country’ by Peter Waples-Crowe, a new series of six works by Ngarigu artist Peter Waples-Crowe on display, where Peter has reflected upon their identity, blurring the binaries of their intersecting lived experiences as a queer First Nations person; and Footscray Queer History Walk, coming to Footscray for the first time in collaboration with the Living Museum Of The West.
Colourful venue Pride Of Our Footscray will bring a diverse programme featuring something for everybody including First Nations drag, all-star drag bingo, queer comedy, and even a steamy male dance revue. Highlights include ‘First Nations Drag Festival and ‘All-Star Drag Bingo Party!’.
Also, don’t miss the major Midsumma events, the Midsumma Carnival at Alexandra Gardens, the Midsumma Pride March at Fitzroy Street and Catani Gardens, and Victoria’s Pride, at Smith Street and Gertrude Street, Fitzroy and Collingwood.
Midsumma Festival is on from 21 January-12 February.
