Ceberano’s first Cabaret Festival a huge success

Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano, Artistic Director of the 2012 Adelaide Cabaret Festival

And so the 2012 Adelaide Cabaret Festival comes to a close… there were bound to be a few sore heads today as the festival goers nurse their cabaret hangovers, partying at the Backstage Club until the wee hours of the morning, led by the unstoppable Mark Nadler and friends.

Artistic Director Kate Ceberano’s first Adelaide Cabaret Festival has claimed the highest box office ever in the event’s entire 12 year history, smashing all previous records, including the 2011 Festival’s record by 12 per cent.

With more than 30 sold out performances, Kate said she was humbled by the obvious love South Australians and its visitors shared for the cabaret genre and the passionate feedback audiences gave to the more than 300 performers across the Festival.

“We honestly couldn’t have asked for better audiences, their passionate participation in connecting with these talented artists and willingness to embark on a united journey through song, dance, comedy, music, and illusion was a magical experience to witness,” Kate said.

“The cogs are already turning for next year’s program which I look forward to with gusto!… we are already in talks with a number of artists regarding the 2013 program”

Kate Ceberano, Artistic Director

There’s no doubt that the line-up of performers in this year’s festival met (and often exceeded expectations) with many a shining moment and memories to treasure for any cabaret fan.  While the definition of cabaret was certainly broadened (and sometimes stretched beyond recognition), the extraordinary variety truly provided something for everyone to enjoy from the quirky to the lovable.

Ceberano’s leadership coupled with the stellar skills of Torben Brookman (Executive Producer) is integral to the the impressive and exciting list of artists, and it provides huge anticipation for the 2013 lineup (too soon to book tickets perhaps?).

Adelaide once again demonstrated it is the best place to play host to the world’s grandest cabaret festival and the Adelaide Festival Centre is a befitting space to house the 16-day event with audiences from interstate and overseas.

The interspersing of David Bromley’s art works throughout the venues and the heightened themed spaces and “busker” acts added to the atmosphere and pure joy of this winter festival.

Mark Nadler. Image: supplied

The lows: loss of rush tickets for spontaneous choices (although not surprising given the high box office sales) and the replacement of the Squid King with the Sausage King in the Winter Garden (salt n’ pepper squid is so much more tasty than a hot dog… just sayin’).

The highs: the expansion of Mark Nadler’s Broadway Hootenanny, moving from the Piano Bar to the bigger Banquet Room which was packed every night and the place to be for serious festival goers… not to mention the place where magic happened creating once in a lifetime cabaret memories.

So thanks for the fun Kate, Torben and all of the team.  Put June 2013 in your diaries now, book your flights and save your pennies – I personally cannot wait to hear what will be in store because this year will be hard to top!

Hayley Horton

Hayley was an arts worker in South Australia for twelve years working freelance for small to medium clients as well as for companies such as the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, State Theatre Company SA, Urban Myth Theatre of Youth and the Australia Business Arts Foundation. As part of her freelance work, Hayley founded the ATG Curtain Call Awards (which is now an annual gala event), co-produced three 24 Hour Show charity fundraiser events, has judged for the Adelaide Fringe Festival and reviewed for Aussie Theatre and the Adelaide Theatre Guide. Hayley now runs a boutique events and arts management business, Footlight Events and in her spare time, is involved with Adelaide’s amateur theatre community as a producer, performer and director.

Hayley Horton

One thought on “Ceberano’s first Cabaret Festival a huge success

  • Kate and Phil Ceberano are two of the most genuinely nice people you’re ever gonna meet in Australian showbiz. The festival was truly a success – the banquet room was a treat. Some things I would critique are the 70 mins. permitted for some shows was too short, some acts weren’t booked for enough performances and there was some overlapping sound from other performances in other rooms at the Festival Theatre. minor faults in the general scheme of things as it was a fantastic festival all round. Congrats and thanks to Kate et. al.

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