Adelaide Cabaret Festival Celebrates 25 Years with Massive 2025 Program
This year’s spectacular runs from June 5-21.
Image Carlene
The good times just keep on rolling in South Australia, with the Adelaide Cabaret Festival celebrating 25 years with a stacked 2025 program.
Punters are encouraged to “Bling in on” as part of the celebrations, with Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Director, award-winning Australian actor, writer, and personality, Virginia Gay, revealing a program containing 77 performances over 12 nights from June 5-21.
Speaking on the annual event, Gay says, “25 years of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival! What a treat - what an achievement! Our beloved festival, which always feels like a big, sparkly party in the depths of winter, gets to party even harder this year because it's our 25th birthday!
“We're celebrating with beloved stars, both local and international, who have helped make and shape our legacy, and we're introducing you to the trailblazers of the next 25 years, the movers and shakers right at the forefront of what cabaret might become. So, throw on something fabulous and come raise a glass with us!”
This year’s lineup includes 11 world premieres, 11 Australian exclusives and nine Adelaide premieres by international artists from the USA, alongside Australia’s best contemporary cabaret acts.
Her Majesty’s Theatre plays host to several of this year’s headline acts, including seven-time Grammy-winning musician, composer, and producer Jacob Collier, who is performing an improvisational live show, and Jessica Mauboy, making her Adelaide Cabaret Festival debut with the world premiere of her stage show, The Story of Me.
Also taking to the Her Majesty’s Theatre stage are Bernadette Robinson with the premiere of her show DIVAS, where she sings a collection of songs from some of the greatest singers of all time, and Aussie favourite David Campbell performing his show, Good Lovin’ & More. The festival also hosts the return of 2024 Adelaide Cabaret Festival Icon award winner Reuben Kaye with his hit show enGORGEd XXL.
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The iconic Dunstan’s Playhouse also hosts a selection of incredible artists, including living legend Carlotta, who performed at the very first Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Bobby Fox delivering the world premiere of his new show Mr. Entertainment, and Aussie music greats Vika and Linda Bull, with the sisters set to serenade crowds with their angelic voices.
Other highlights include award-winning cabaret superstar Michelle Brasier, the trio of Jess Hitchcock, Fanny Lumsden and Alice Keith paying tribute to the classic Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris album, Trio, and Festival Statesman Chorus returning home for one night only with A Cappella Time Warp.
As for the rest of the program, there’s a host of sensational performers and thought-provoking shows, with some of the must-attend events including ARIA Award winner Clare Bowditch sharing stories and singing songs with special guest Aurora Kurth, Thirsty Merc’s Rai Thistlethwayte paying homage to Stevie Wonder with his show Reimagining Stevie Wonder’s ‘Innervisions’, the preimire of Tomáš Kantor outrageous theatrical show Sugar, featuring songs from Kylie to Chappell Roan, and the hilarious The Burton Brothers, whose sketch comedy, 1925, is set entirely in the year 1925.
For the full Adelaide Cabaret Festival program, head to cabaret.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au.
Speaking on this year’s festival, The Hon Andrea Michaels MP, South Australian Minister for Arts says, “Happy 25th anniversary to Adelaide Cabaret Festival. We are so lucky to have the biggest cabaret festival in the world right here in Adelaide and I want to congratulate Virginia Gay and the team at Adelaide Festival Centre on putting together an incredible world-class program to celebrate this milestone. The festival continues to get bigger and better, and I encourage everyone to get along and experience the magic of Adelaide Cabaret Festival.”
Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director Douglas Gautier AM adds, “My congratulations to Adelaide Cabaret Festival on a remarkable 25 years. This world-renowned festival continues to captivate audiences and shines brightly in Adelaide Festival Centre’s year-round program of festivals. We look forward to celebrating with our vibrant audiences from South Australia and across the country as we welcome world-class performers on our stages.”
Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2025 sparkles from 5-21 June at Adelaide Festival Centre and Her Majesty’s Theatre. Tickets on sale today, Wednesday, April 2 from noon local time via adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au.
