Reuben Kaye has slipped into his Artistic Director shoes and curated an exciting program for Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026. The tagline is a Delicious Revolution, and with everything going on in the world right now, that sounds like just what we need. Among the program of both Australian and international acts, are eight shows with a French link, including one by who Reuben Kaye calls “Australia’s premier interpreter of classic French chanson”, and another who Reuben discovered at the young age of 8. Another he says “is going to be transportive, it’s going to change you.” We tell you about these eight shows below.
Lou Blackwell & The French Set – A French Romance
A supreme musical tribute to the artists and music of the Great French Songbook, which Reuben Kaye says is “possibly the classiest thing I’ve programmed in this festival”.
Lou Blackwell once lived and sang in Parisian jazz clubs and little bars, and is bringing her passion for the great cultural city of Paris to life in a celebration of French song. Reuben says that “Louise Blackwell is Australia’s premier interpreter of classic French chanson.“ You may have been lucky enough to see Louise Blackwell in her Adelaide Cabaret Festival debut in 2022 with her show celebrating the life of Juliette Gréco, Love on the Left Bank. Come see her in her return to Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
Backed by her stunning five-piece band (led by musical director and arranger, Mark Simeon Ferguson), Blackwell evokes the legendary Parisian cabaret rooms and concert halls, drawing from the works of Trenet, Brassens, Brel, Aznavour and more.
Take a magical, musical and mesmerising trip to Paris from your seat in Dunstan Playhouse. To paraphrase Piaf, vous ne regretterez rien!
You can purchase tickets to this show only here or for the Premium Package which includes two other shows on 7 June here
Monsieur Camembert – Cohen Noir
The beauty, mystery and romance of Leonard Cohen performed by a band that Reuben Kaye discovered at Camberwell Market aged 8.
A decade on from his passing, the poetry and resonance of Leonard Cohen’s music remain unrivalled.
Three-time ARIA Award-winner Monsieur Camembert treats us to the Adelaide premiere of this sell-out homage to the great works of Leonard Cohen, reimagining his iconic pieces through their renowned gypsy jazz sound. Reuben says that “Monsieur Camembert is an ardent lover of gypsy swing and Django Reinhardt’s work which is essential to the French identity of jazz”.
Cohen Noir is an immersive musical experience, moving through Cohen’s songbook with the help of a 10-piece band, choir, special guest vocalists and rare audio of the man himself in breathtakingly original ode.
You can buy tickets to the show here or to the Premium Package with 2 other shows for 20 June here
Ursula Yovick – Sings Nina Simone
One of Australia’s most magnetic performers, Ursula Yovich (The Sapphires, Top End Wedding) captivates in her powerful homage to the High Priestess of Soul.
Simone’s spirit sings through in perfect harmony with Yovich’s unmistakeable spark. Witness an encounter across decades, cultures and continents and be part of a conversation between activist–artists for whom song is a balm, a shield and a compass.
This show will stir your soul as Ursula holds up a mirror to the present, finding echoes of power, resilience and hope in the world today.
Reuben Kaye says “This is a real night of speaking truth to power, a real night of how art and activism collide, and how we can, through these gears re shift the momentum of the world and change the world somehow.” He adds “when one icon takes on another, there’s something magical that happens there. We all know and love the music of Nina Simone, but sung by Ursula, embodied in that voice and in that creative mind, it’s just magic. It’s going to be transportive, it’s going to change you. That’s what cabaret is really about.”
Purchase tickets to the show here.
Libby O’Donovan & Michaela Burger – Short
Adelaide Cabaret Icon Libby O’Donovan OAM and award-winning performer Michaela Burger stand at three meters tall, collectively.
After decades of being called vertically challenged pocket rockets, these two runts join forces to show that there’s more to shorties than meets the eye.
Short is a show full of musical mega hits, great tales of shortness and proof that good things really do come in small packages.
A few of the artists whose songs you can expect include Prince, Dolly Parton, Ariana Grande, Cynthio Erivo, Paul Simon, Angry Anderson, Edith Piaf, and both of the Minogue sisters. Michaela Burger has in depth knowledge of Edith Piaf’s music and life, having researched, written and sung in her award-winning show Exposing Edith.
You can purchase tickets to the show here or for the Premium Package with two others shows on 12 June here.
Intelligent, puerile and wet-your-pants funny.
Experience the best bits of PO PO MO CO’s (Post Post Modern Comedy) 10-year oeuvre of anarchic, absurdist physical comedy.
These outrageous femme queer clowns dare to play where no nip has slipped before. Body puppetry, eccentric dance, wild characters, ‘musical theatre’, animals, plants and minerals rendered exquisitely stupid. Surrender for an hour to their subversive ridiculous world.
Kimberley Twiner, Artistic Director of PO PO MO CO, specialises in ensemble physical comedy (clown, bouffon, character) and physical theatre grounded in the Lecoq pedagogy. She is a graduate of several theatre and clown schools include Ecole Philippe Gaulier.
Reuben Kaye says “They are chaos. They are revolution. They are hilarious and they are messy” and that “it is clowning, it is theatre, it is comedy, it is anarchy, it is revolution, and a lot of nipples”.
Buy your tickets to the show here or for the Premium Package including tickets to 2 other shows on 7 June here.
Paul Capsis & Adam Noviello – HOUSE OF ROT: Grey Gardens
Cabaret icon Paul Capsis and magnetic showstopper Adam Noviello join forces in a dangerously loose reimagining of the true story of Grey Gardens, which tells the “daily lives of two aging, eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith, are the sole inhabitants of a Long Island estate”. (FRENCH LINK: The Bouvier Beales were descended from the French Bouvier family).
Part unholy communion, part elegy in heels, HOUSE OF ROT tells of two eccentric recluses occupying a house teetering on the brink of collapse.
Reckoning with legacy, survival, grief and fury, this is a contemporary-meets-classic that holds audiences transfixed in its hand.
Reuben Kaye says “this story is inherently part of queer mythology” and that “it’s an examination of how to stay alive in something that is dying. But it is also finding beauty, hope, life in a world that keeps pushing back against you”.
Purchase your ticket to the show here or to the Premium package including 2 other shows on 13 or 14 June here
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox – The Future is Vintage Tour 2026
The world’s foremost purveyors of time-twisting hits, Postmodern Jukebox, have announced their highly-anticipated return to Australia in June and July 2026!
Having previously performed multiple sold-out tours across Oceania, the trailblazing troupe of singers, dancers and instrumentalists will hit our shores with their brand new The Future is Vintage tour.
“In the midst of the AI hype all around us, some folks have gone so far as to proclaim that in the not-so-distant future, all of the music that we listen to will be AI generated – we’ll gladly take the other side of that wager,” says PMJ founder and arranger, Scott Bradlee. “We’re humbly presenting our own unique vision of a spectacular future; one that is built upon the timeless musical genres of the past and the authentically human spirit of creativity that inspired them.”
Concertgoers can expect to enter a parallel musical universe where modern-day earworms and iconic pop tracks alike are reimagined. Expect everything from ’70s rock classics and ’80s Britpop hits, to current chart-toppers, movie and video game soundtracks. Dress in your vintage best, for the full time-travel experience! They don’t just do songs in English either, they’ve done a few French numbers over the years.
Reuben says that “Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox is a gateway drug to cabaret for a lot of people because it shows you how you can take a beloved pop song and put a vintage spin on it, how you can reconstitute the meaning of a song and give it a whole new life. That’s really rare.”
Alfie Boe with special guest Amy Manford
World-renowned tenor and star of stage and screen, Alfie Boe, returns to Australia in June 2026, showcasing a career spanning opera, Broadway, and chart-topping albums.
Best known for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in London’s West End, including the 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 Arena and the Arena Spectacular World Tour, he recently returned for the sold-out 40th anniversary gala, with stellar performances in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Boe is a global figure in classical and musical theatre, and he’ll be joined by special guest soprano Amy Manford, best known for playing Christine in Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End and The Sydney Opera House.
Alongside his stage triumphs, Boe’s discography includes acclaimed albums such as Bring Him Home, Alfie, Storyteller, and As Time Goes By, plus best-selling collaborations with Michael Ball. With 11 Top 10 UK albums, including multiple No. 1s and platinum certifications, Boe connects with audiences far beyond musical theatre.
In this new chapter, Boe will perform a mix of greatest hits, fan favourites, and tracks from his latest solo album Facing Myself – a powerful reflection of his artistry, resilience, and enduring passion for music.
Reuben Kaye says “cabaret has always been the artform of the against. It’s always been there because it is social commentary; it is essentially punk before the music came in. It’s always been there at times of social upheaval. So, for us, this festival is full of iconoclasts who really push the boundaries in every way, shape or form.” Across 12 nights in June, Reuben Kaye’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026 program promises “a gamut of revolutionaries, each in their own way more delicious than the next”.
We can’t wait for the delicious revolution to begin on 4 June!
KEY INFO FOR ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL 2026
WHAT: Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026, the world’s largest cabaret festival
WHERE: Adelaide Festival Centre venues
WHEN: Thursday to Sunday from 4 June to 21 June 2026
HOW: Purchase your tickets via the links above
HOW MUCH: Ticket prices depend on the show, package or ticket type chosen.
