Since 2009 the Melbourne Cabaret Festival has presented a two-week festival of the cabaret genre (aside from a couple of Covid-interrupted years). Each year we welcomed thousands of audience members to venues across the city, presenting dozens of popular and brand new cabaret shows.

Due to ongoing funding uncertainty, the not-for-profit Board has decided to shift its model away from a two-week concentrated festival towards presenting a series of smaller cabaret events interspersed at various venues throughout the year.

By diversifying and spreading events throughout the year, it allows for more flexibility in scheduling, reduces risk associated with a single large event, and ensures a more consistent presence of the festival brand in the cultural scene of Melbourne.

These events may fall under the umbrella of other festivals, such as presenting comical cabaret in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, queer cabaret in Midsumma, emerging acts in Melbourne Fringe, or jazz-styled cabaret within jazz festivals. This not only allows for the integration of cabaret into different thematic contexts but also expands the reach of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival to diverse audiences who might not have attended a standalone cabaret event.

They may also take place independent of other festivals depending on negotiations with performers and venues.

This model enables the organisation to continue to fulfil its purpose of promoting and fostering cabaret, engaging and growing a broad audience base for the art form, and encouraging and presenting largely new works.

We also commit to maintaining our commitment to fostering new talent in the cabaret genre by producing opportunities for emerging performers to showcase their work, whether through standalone events or as part of larger festivals. This helps to ensure a pipeline of fresh and innovative acts and also contributes to the growth and sustainability of the cabaret community in Melbourne.

Performers wishing to partner with us under this new model should submit via an open submissions platform here.