Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2020 has been cancelled, following the South Australian Government’s declaration of a public health emergency, and ban on non-essential gatherings of 100 people or more at indoor premises including Adelaide Festival Centre. There are also travel bans in force which affect artists coming from interstate and overseas to South Australia.
Patrons who have already purchased tickets for early release Adelaide Cabaret Festival performances will be notified by BASS via SMS or email and will automatically receive a full refund. Patrons do not need to call BASS or the box office.
2020 would have been the 20th Anniversary of Adelaide Festival Centre’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival, a winter delight in South Australia’s calendar.
The program for the June festival, packed with talented artists and amazing shows, was ready to share with audiences.
However, the health of all Adelaide Festival Centre’s patrons, artists and staff is the priority and cancelling the festival for this year was the only responsible decision to help protect the community from COVID-19.
In the interim, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival team is exploring ways to support our valued cabaret artists and share digital content with audiences; we look forward to sharing more details about this shortly.
Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Director, Julia Zemiro:
“This year was to be the 20th anniversary of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. In my final year as Artistic Director I could not have been more thrilled to be at the helm of this celebration. Sadly, it can’t be.
“This is truly one of those moments for me where you realise how you take things for granted: Like putting on a show, inviting people along and raising a glass.
“I want to thank the wonderful cabaret teams and crews at Adelaide Festival Centre and the international and local artists who have already put in so much work in putting their shows together.
“We are now working on ways to take the cabaret platform online – cabaret has always been a way for artists to express political commentary and satire in a way that uplifts audiences and perhaps that’s what we need at this time. Watch this space…”
Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & Artistic Director, Douglas Gautier AM:
“The safety of the community, patrons, artists, staff, volunteers and their families comes first.
“We have worked hard to create a program we are proud of and we think audiences would have loved. However, it is not to be, and I thank the cabaret team for their immense effort and resilience at this challenging time.
“Our thoughts are particularly with artists and those in the creative industries who are most affected.
“We hope this long-loved winter festival will welcome back audiences with open arms, live music and an opportunity to reconnect in person in 2021.
“In the meantime, please stay connected with us online.”
