For three weeks in June, Adelaide Cabaret Festival keeps winter at bay with an eclectic program of vaudevillian circus runaways, bewitching chanteuses and grandstanding storytellers from across Australia and the world.

Set in motion by a star-studded opening night gala and followed by sparkling events that bring together the biggest names from the festival program each year, this highly inclusive festival actively celebrates diversity and reflects cabaret’s irreverent spirit and unashamedly political origins.

Broadway legends and talented up and comers alike take to the stage with chutzpah to deliver pitch perfect renditions of stage classics and cutting-edge satire peppered with razor sharp one liners. Raunchy burlesque and post-modern political comedy are equally at home (and sometimes share the same stage) at the largest dedicated cabaret festival in the world.

As well as providing a showcase for the most celebrated names in cabaret – think Alan Cumming, Dita Von Teese, Jane Birkin and Kristin Chenoweth – Adelaide Cabaret Festival helps to foster the art form’s next big stars with scholarships, commissions and the Class of Cabaret Program, which pairs year 10 and 11 students with a team of mentors and professional artists who help develop their craft.

The festival takes place at Adelaide Festival Centre which becomes a buzzing hub with up to six venues presenting different shows at any one time. Shows average 70 minutes and are often scheduled so you can catch two performances back-to-back! Seductive and subversive, the Cabaret Festival proves that this art form is as vital as ever.