Opening weekend of QPAC Unlocked serves up a treat
It’s QPAC, but not as we know it. Brisbane’s performing arts centre has emerged from lockdown, but it’s what the audience wasn’t allowed to do that reminded us these are strange times.
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Friday night was a big night for QPAC and it was hard to tell which was flowing more freely – the bubbly or the hand sanitiser.
QPAC Unlocked is a series of smaller scale events over the next couple of months that mark something extraordinary.
It really shouldn’t be extraordinary to go to QPAC to see a show but as chief executive John Kotzas told the crowd of 50 who turned up for Wonderland: An Evening of Classics, these are strange times.
“I don‘t like social distancing,” Kotzas admitted.
“I like to be amongst it.
“But I’m being true and honest to (Chief Health Officer) Dr Young and there is 4m between the stage and the first row.”
Those of us lucky enough to be at the Lyrebird Restaurant at QPAC for this rather old-fashioned but historic event wanted to sing happy birthday to one of the performers, Brisbane soprano Katie Stenzel, but we weren’t allowed to. That would have spread droplets, wouldn‘t it?
Stenzel and baritone Samuel Piper entertained us with Brisbane’s pianist du jour, Alex Raineri at the keyboards.
Meanwhile we feasted on local produce and Queensland wines (not me, I’m teetotal) ... Darling Downs beef cheeks for me, Bowen barramundi for my better half and BBQ pineapple cheesecake and Sunshine Coast strawberry Panna Cotta for dessert. Queenslander!
The program for the evening, which was to be repeated Saturday night, included some Mozart, Debussy, some show tunes and an hilarious finale by Tom Lehrer, a comic piece called I Got it From Agnes – a song for the pandemic.
As Kotzas pointed out this was the first show at QPAC in 154 days.
“We’ve missed out on 600 performances,” he told the crowd. Kotzas told me later that he and his team had been working Manhattan Project style to get things up and running again, often to have their hopes dashed and be sent back to the drawing board. Finally they came up with QPAC Unlocked which was deemed COVID safe.
In the coming weeks there will be more dinner shows at the Lyrebird Restaurant, small scale concerts in the Concert Hall and a sassy cabaret called Club Cremorne in the Cremorne Theatre. That one includes a striptease artist who swallows swords. I can sense you rushing to book already.
Queensland talent is on show and you’ll see some amazing stuff across three venues with more from Alex Raineri, musical theatre star Amy Lehpamer, Camerata and others.
Local outfit Australasian Dance Collective are also doing a COVID safe show this weekend at QPAC and next weekend Brisbane Festival opens there with Circa’s Leviathan which will complement the QPAC Unlocked program.
It’s QPAC ...but not quite as we know it. Still, it’s a start.