Curtain call: supporting the Festival of Australian Queer Theatre

Written by Toby Beshara, Communications Officer

Image of the performers of Numa & Karl with Deb Lord

Overview

Aussie Broadband has always had LGBTIQA+ communities at our heart – so we’re proud to have supported the inaugural Festival of Australian Queer Theatre (FAQT) held in Ballarat in August 2024! The FAQT spotlights amazing LGBTIQA+ art and artists, through a mix of performances and workshops, as well as conferences sharing lived LGBTIQA+ experiences. The festival held 12 events over 4 nights in 3 venues around Ballarat.

To find out more about the FAQT, we spoke to organiser Deb Lord. Deb is a creative, LGBTIQA+ activist, as well as a founder of the LGBTIQA+ variety TV show LanceTV.

What was the inspiration to jump from a television show like LanceTV to a live theatre festival?

“I was looking at our studio and thinking ‘This is a lot of space for just one little project; who could we share this with, and what could we do?’

There are a lot of queer theatre makers who’ve come through performing arts at Federation University, and they would make the perfect mentors to work with young queer people.

I wanted it to be more than just a therapeutic moment – then I had the idea of a festival.”

The theme of the festival is ‘authentic disruption’. Could you talk a bit about what that means?

“We're trying to disrupt those narratives around who we are and what our queerness is. It's to tell our own LGBTQIA+ stories and to reclaim our humanness.”

Photo of Deb Lord and Clinton Savage with performers

Deb emphasises that the event is for everyone who’d like to learn more about the queer community.

“Here is a safe opportunity for you to engage with us through this beautiful medium of theatre to learn more about us and what queer stories are about. It is queer performers with their authentic voices."

Apart from having the LanceTV studio close by, were there any other reasons to choose Ballarat as the home of the FAQT?

“Ballarat is full of theatres – so we have exponential room for us to grow in the years to come. Also, audiences can walk right from the station to the venues.

There is no other festival like this in Australia. I’m very proud on behalf of Ballarat to say it's the home of Queer Australian theatre. It shows innovation can happen in regional areas - it's not just isolated to urban areas.

I look forward to putting as much queer theatre in Ballarat as can be in the years to come.”

Organising a festival must be a huge job. How has it been working with performers and the community to bring it to life?

“It's been wonderful that so many people have agreed to come and be part of this very first festival. There has been a lot of holding space for each other.

I’m one person that's a part of a whole bunch of other ‘one people’ coming together to make change in a creative, wonderful way.

Anything's possible when a whole bunch of ‘one people’ come together.”

ABB speaking at the FAQT launch

Aussie employee Clinton Savage attended the festival and spoke at its launch. He came away with a lot to think about:

“It was an immersive experience which showcased some of the great playwrights, directors, creators and actors in Australia. There were wonderful plays, storytelling, and masterclasses that were full of supportive and welcoming people from across the LGBTQI+ spectrum.

Even as a total novice, being able to take part and enjoy the weekend was amazing and I'm sure the festival will only grow and prosper in the future.”