GRIMM: Tales from the Brothers Grimm Comes to QPAC This Month

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) has announced Shake & Stir Theatre Co’s newest production, GRIMM: Tales from The Brothers Grimm as part of Brisbane Festival from 31 August to 6 October 2024.

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From the company behind the award-winning stage productions – Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, and A Christmas Carol – comes this bold adaptation of tales from the Brothers Grimm in a bewitching theatre experience.

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GRIMM beckons audiences into a world where fairytales are reimagined with profound intensity. Within darkened corridors and haunting landscapes, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and many other intriguing characters emerge from the shadows, and the truth behind their stories – warts and all – boil and bubble to the surface.

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Shake & Stir Artistic Director Nick Skubij said the works of The Brothers Grimm has always been a long-term fascination for the team.

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“Adapting these stories has been on Shake & Stir's radar for many years. The deliciously dark overtones and the fascinating and iconic locations are already so theatrical,” he said.

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“Now seems like the perfect time to bring them to life, and with our partners at QPAC and Brisbane Festival, we can't wait to unravel these tales, extracting their morals, and pushing the limits of what people think they know and understand about them.”

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GRIMM will mark the first time that the company has worked with renowned award-winning writer and director Daniel Evans, who will take the reigns as director.

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His directing work includes Vietgone, Drizzle Boy, and Medea (Queensland Theatre). Evans is currently Queensland Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director (Programming).

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“We are excited to welcome Daniel Evans in his Shake & Stir debut as director. Dan has been a great friend of the company for many years and we’re sure his quirky ability to surprise and serve up spectacle whilst delivering precision-cut storytelling will explode from the stage. Expect the unexpected,” Skubij said.

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Shake & Stir will also collaborate with Australian fashion industry icon, proud Marrithiyal man Paul McCann on GRIMM’s breathtaking costumes.

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Celebrated as one of the fashion world's top-performing First Nations designers, McCann is renowned for his elegantly luxe, high-end garments.

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“Paul’s work, like the man himself, is fabulous, fierce, and forward thinking. From the pages of Vogue, via the Grimm Brothers, we can’t wait to applaud Paul’s designs as they fill the stage,” Skubij said.

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The production will feature a stellar line up of storytellers including acclaimed singer/songwriter and actor Brendan MacLean (The Great Gatsby), AFI Award nominee Angie Millikan (Elvis), and star of stage and screen Aljin Abella (The Artful Dodger) joining Nelle Lee (Jane Eyre).

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Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina is looking forward to another stellar production from the Shake & Stir team after featuring in the festival for several years.

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“It is wonderful to showcase local theatre heroes, Shake & Stir, back again to be part of this year’s Brisbane Festival,” she said.

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“GRIMM is poised to be one of the lush, rich, dark, and gorgeous stars of the festival, a testament to their incredible talent.

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“With direction by the much-loved Daniel Evans, these well-known fables will come to life in a way that only Shake & Stir can deliver, promising a bewitching theatre experience that will linger long after the final curtain.”

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Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said GRIMM is an exciting collaboration between exceptional Queensland arts organisations, delivering old stories in new ways that will stir Brisbane Festival audiences.

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“Shake & Stir Theatre Co is renowned for adapting celebrated work to the stage and it is thrilling that GRIMM will be cloaked in the lavish costumes of First Nations designer Paul McCann,” Minister Enoch said.

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“Queensland Government support for Shake & Stir supports the sharing of quality storytelling and grows creative employment, delivering on the 10-year Creative Together roadmap and ensuring our arts companies, artists and stories are celebrated on the world stage of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

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QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas said he was proud of the Centre’s long-term relationship with Shake & Stir and acknowledged the company’s impressive reputation for page to stage creations.

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“QPAC has collaborated with the Shake & Stir team for more than 10 years and we are always keen to co-present work with them that engages diverse audiences and shares captivating stories.

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“Shake & Stir productions, such as Jane Eyre, The Twits, and A Christmas Carol, always bear the company’s signature attention to staging, script, and storytelling which unfailingly results in an extraordinary theatre experience for audiences.”

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GRIMM will come to life on the Cremorne Theatre stage from 31 August until 6 October 2024. Tickets are now available via qpac.com.au or 136 246.

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