Jessica Mauboy to perform world first at Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Adelaide Cabaret Festival will stage the world premiere of Jessica Mauboy’s new show which will be “raw” and “dramatic”.
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Jessica Mauboy says her Adelaide Cabaret Festival debut will be a chance for her fans to see her as never before – and it’s going to be “raw”.
The ARIA and AACTA award-winning Indigenous Australian singer and actor is excited to be part of the line-up for this year’s 25th anniversary festival, which runs June 5 to 21.
Mauboy will perform for one night only in what will be the world premiere of her new show The Story of Me – A Musical Journey Through My Career at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday, June 14.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mail, Mauboy said choosing material for had been “overwhelming and daunting”.
While not revealing the set list, one song was hinted at when she recounted the “freedom” of recording a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s feminist anthem Girls Just Want To Have Fun at age 14.
Explaining she “had to be uncomfortable to be comfortable” as an artist, Mauboy will share the highs and lows of her career, along with footage of her singing as a child in Darwin.
“This will be the most raw I have ever been in a show,” Mauboy said.
“I will also dedicate a moment my mum – and both my parents – to say thank you for all the love, guidance and support. It will be a big moment in the show.”
While Mauboy kept the January 13 birth of her daughter Mia under wraps until recently, she confirmed her own experience of motherhood would feature:
“It will be dramatic,” she said.
Tickets to the show and the full festival program will be available on Wednesday, April 2, from noon, at adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au
Adelaide Festival Centre appoints Kate Gould as new CEO
Dark Mofo co-founder Kate Gould has been appointed as Adelaide Festival Centre’s incoming chief executive officer.
leaving her role as Brisbane Powerhouse’s chief executive officer and artistic director, she will take up the new position from July.
Ms Gould was previously Adelaide Festival’s CEO and associate artistic director and held board positions such as being Adelaide Symphony Orchestra chair, Adelaide Football Club director and SA Premier’s Council for Women co-chair.
The co-founder and former executive director of Hobart art museum Mona’s winter festival Dark Mofo will take up her Adelaide Festival Centre role on July 7 for a five-year term.
Current Adelaide Festival Centre CEO Douglas Gautier, who has been in the role for close to two decades and is retiring in June, has congratulated Ms Gould on her appointment saying she would “continue the momentum of this organisation with such a great team”.
Under Mr Gautier’s leadership, attendances at the centre’s venues grew to more than a million annually, with the introduction of OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Guitar Festival and the renamed DreamBig Children’s Festival.
Major projects during his tenure have included the rebuild of Her Majesty’s Theatre and the $35m upgrade of the Festival Theatre, Dunstan Playhouse and Space Theatre which is underway.
He also brought Disney Theatrical Group’s musicals to Adelaide for the first time, with seasons of Aladdin, Frozen and the upcoming Beauty and the Beast.
Movie buffs will love these Adelaide Symphony Orchestra concerts
It’s back to the future for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, which will perform the live scores to three classic films in a series of concerts this year.
The original 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope has been added to this season’s performances on August 9, alongside Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on June 7 and Back to the Future on November 15.
All three concerts will be at the Entertainment Centre, with the films shown on a 20-metre wide, high-definition screen while the orchestra plays along.
“This is ASO’s most ambitious film concert season to date,” said ASO chief executive Colin Cornish.
“These iconic movies have shaped generations, and now audiences can relive the magic with a full symphony orchestra bringing the scores to life in the arena.”
ASO concertmaster Kate Suthers said nothing compared to hearing iconic scores performed live.
“Film music is one of the most powerful ways for audiences to experience the impact of a live orchestra,” she said.
Tickets for the Star Wars concert go on sale Tuesday, March 25, at aso.com.au
Fringe approaches million ticket sales for closing weekend
For the third year in a row Adelaide Fringe will pass the million ticket sales mark on its final weekend, defying the cost of living crisis.
By Friday the Fringe had sold more than 980,000 tickets with a box office value of $24m, with up to 95,000 more sales projected by the time the month-long event finishes on Sunday.
Fringe director Heather Croall said selling a million tickets in the current economic climate was an “incredible achievement” for all involved.
“The success of the 2025 season is a testament to the festival’s deep connection with audiences and its ability to evolve each year,” she said.
The Fringe also had some of its artists photographed in iconic South Australian locations this week as part of its campaign to attract more overseas and interstate visitors for future events.
Tourists accounted for almost 30 per cent of total ticket sales, with the number of interstate and overseas visitors this year expected to rise to 60,000, up from 58,000 in 2024.
Performances this weekend include Brazilian dance spectacular Amazonia, fashion cabaret In These Shoes, and country music comedy Chickenstock!
$10m donation to Adelaide Festival Centre for future arts programs
Philanthropist Pamela Wall has made South Australia’s largest single donation to the performing arts with a $10m gift to the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation.
It is also believed to be Australia’s biggest donation by an individual to a performing arts centre, with the funds to be specifically allocated for future show programs.
Dr Wall said she wanted to help secure the Festival Centre as “a vibrant cultural hub for generations to come”.
“I want young people to be inspired by the performances they witness, for artists to have the support they need to create and innovate, and for audiences from all backgrounds to experience the joy of world-class productions.”
Together with her late husband Ian, Dr Wall previously donated $1m for a gallery space at the Her Majesty’s Theatre redevelopment, and created a fund to support arts experiences for children and students.
In December she also purchased an $800,000 work, created by US glass artist Dale Chihuly for his current exhibition at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, to remain permanently in its Palm House.
Festival Centre chief executive Douglas Gautier said Dr Wall’s latest donation would go towards programs including its DreamBIG Children’s Festival and Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
“This gift demonstrates the belief Pamela has in the arts shaping the future of South Australia’s cultural landscape,” Mr Gautier said.
Early in her career, Pamela Wall was a nurse at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital before working alongside her husband Ian and serving on the board of globally successful communications technology company Codan for 20 years.
Festival fortunes turnaround as Sheehy delivers surplus
After declaring another deficit was “not an option” in the wake of last year’s $825,000 loss, the 2025 Adelaide Festival will finish this weekend with interim artistic director Brett Sheehy delivering a six-figure surplus.
More than 93,700 tickets have already been sold to this year’s Festival, with total attendances including WOMADelaide and free Writers’ Week sessions of 353,556.
Shows including Trent Dalton’s Love Stories, Table Top Shakespeare, Club Amour and rock musical Big Name, No Blankets continue until the Festival finishes on Sunday, with tickets still available for many performances.
“After making a perhaps rash declaration to my board and my team that a deficit this year was simply not an option, I am thrilled to call it now,” Sheehy said.
“The 2025 Festival will finish with a very healthy six-figure surplus.”
Interstate visitors accounted for 29 per cent of tickets sold and made up more than half the audience at some events.
The exact size of this year’s surplus and ticket sales will be released later this year as part of the Festival’s annual report.
Sheehy, who previously directed the 2006 and 2008 events, was hired to complete this year’s program after his predecessor Ruth Mackenzie left to accept a new State Government arts leadership role.
Former Malthouse Theatre head Matthew Lutton has been named to take over as the Adelaide Festival’s new artistic director for the 2026-28 events.
Festival appoints new artistic director
The Adelaide Festival has appointed Matthew Lutton, longtime head of Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre, as its artistic director for the next three years.
Lutton had announced in January that he would step down as artistic director and co-chief executive of the Malthouse at the end of March, after nine years leading the company.
The theatre and opera director said it was an extraordinary honour to be chosen to deliver the 2026-28 Adelaide Festival programs and that the event held “an astonishing artistic legacy”.
“It is a festival renowned for large-scale international theatre, opera, dance, and music that can only be experienced in Adelaide,” Lutton said.
“It launches daring new commissions that unite Australian and global artists, and it brings to life outdoor spectacles that astonish thousands.
“I am thrilled to lead the festival into its next chapter.”
Before that, Lutton will direct two more productions for the Malthouse’s 2025 season, an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel The Birds – on which the Alfred Hitchcock film was based – in May, and Tom Wright’s play Troy in September.
Lutton’s international collaborations include works with Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, and London’s Lyric Hammersmith and Barbican Centre. He has directed operas including Make No Noise for the Bavarian State Opera, Strauss’ Elektra for Opera Australia and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman for New Zealand Opera
His credits with Malthouse include the first stage adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock, international science fiction collaboration Solaris, and the Australian premiere of Tom Waits’ musical The Black Rider.
Lutton will take over from caretaker director Brett Sheehy, who completed delivery of this year’s Festival program when his predecessor Ruth Mackenzie left last year to take up a new arts role with the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Adelaide Festival chair Tracy Whiting said Lutton’s “profound understanding” of contemporary performing arts would ensure the event continued to thrive.
“His passion for theatre and opera combined with his innovative artistic vision positions him perfectly to drive the continued evolution of Adelaide Festival as Australia’s premier cultural event,” she said.
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