From Curtis Stone to city stages: Brisbane’s arts and entertainment scene heats up this winter

Brisbane’s winter arts and entertainment calendar is filling fast, with a major restaurant opening and a slate of live performances drawing crowds across the city.

The headline news for food lovers: Curtis Stone, the Brisbane-born chef who built a global career from London to Los Angeles, is opening his first Australian restaurant. Stone told the Sydney Morning Herald on July 10 he had been “dreaming about it for 30 years.” The venue, an upscale seafood-focused spot called Fins, is slated for a site on the Brisbane River, a homecoming after decades abroad for the boy from Toowoomba who started cooking at his grandmother’s side.

The announcement lands as Brisbane’s dining scene continues its post-Olympic boom. New riverside precincts in Howard Smith Wharves and South Bank have drawn heavyweight chefs, and locals are increasingly booking weeks ahead for weekend dinners. Stone’s return adds further heft to a corridor already crowded with high-end options.

Stage and screen fill the winter calendar

Across town, theatres are leaning into drama and comedy. The Queensland Theatre Company’s winter season includes the Brisbane premiere of The Jungle and the Sea, a new work by emerging playwright Harriet Marshall that examines climate displacement through the lens of a Torres Strait Islander family. The production runs at the Bille Brown Theatre in South Brisbane through August 8.

Over at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) on Grey Street, the Hamilton juggernaut has finally left town, but its replacement, a revival of Chicago, opened July 9 to near-sold-out houses. QPAC reports that midweek performances are still available, but weekend tickets are scarce.

For film buffs, the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) kicks off August 5 at the Palace Barracks Cinema in Bowen Hills and the Elizabeth Picture Theatre in the CBD. The program, announced July 8, includes 122 features and short films from 28 countries, with a focus on Pacific and Southeast Asian cinema. Festival director Amanda Lee has said the lineup reflects “the stories that connect our region.”

Art, music and free outdoor events

On the visual arts front, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) at Stanley Place is running Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child, a survey of the late French-American artist’s textile works. The show, which opened June 26, has already drawn more than 40,000 visitors, according to gallery figures released July 9. Entry is $22 for adults, with discounts for concession holders and free entry for children under 12.

Music lovers have several options this month. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra is performing Beethoven’s Ninth at the Concert Hall at QPAC on July 20 and 21. Outdoor types can head to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mount Coot-tha for the SummerSounds series, which kicks off July 25 with a double bill of indie-folk acts. Entry is free, though the council asks attendees to register online for capacity management.

Looking ahead, the annual BrisAsia Festival, which in past years has drawn more than 100,000 people across 60-plus events, has announced a winter edition for August 21-29, centered on the Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley. Organisers say the program will feature Korean percussion, Chinese opera and South Asian dance workshops.

For families, the Queensland Museum at South Bank is extending its Dinosaur Discovery exhibition through September 5 after strong demand. Weekday visits are quieter, the museum advises, and online bookings are recommended.

As winter deepens, Brisbane’s arts and entertainment scene shows no sign of cooling. Whether you’re after a degustation dinner, a standing ovation or a quiet gallery afternoon, the city offers more choices than ever, and reservations, as always, are the smart move.