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Opposition Leader a Philistine to call Brisbane a Cultural Desert

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Anna Bligh
16/03/2010
OPPOSITION LEADER A PHILISTINE TO CALL BRISBANE A CULTURAL DESERT

OPPOSITION leader John Paul Langbroek has been branded a philistine after he claimed Queensland was a "cultural desert".

Premier and Arts Minister Anna Bligh said John Paul Langbroek's comments were "not only inaccurate, they are ignorant."

"Only a philistine could claim Brisbane was a one-show town and a cultural desert.

"The arts community across Australia is increasingly recognising Queensland as a cultural hub.

"Yet here we have a leader of the opposition denigrating what we have to offer in order to score cheap political points."

John Paul Langbroek issued a media release today claiming that Queensland had lost the opportunity to stage "Waiting for Godot" because no venue was available.

"His claims are dishonest, juvenile and misleading," said the Premier.

"The facts are that QPAC is more than suitable as a venue for this performance and Waiting for Godot did have a prospective booking made.

"When asked to confirm and pay up they were unable to do so because they could not confirm person they wanted in lead role.

"The slot was allocated to Mamma Mia, which was able to confirm and pay the booking fee.

"So Mr Langbroek has made a seriously embarrassing mistake and insulted the Queensland Arts community along the way."

In Mr Langbroek's release he also claimed that Brisbane was missing out on other "major cultural events" and nominated, Billy Elliot, The Lion King, Wicked and the Jersey Boys as shows that got away.

"Bookings for other shows and negotiations to secure bookings for other shows are commercial in confidence," said the Premier.

"But I will say that the leader of the Opposition should not be so quick to nominate failure when he clearly doesn't know the facts.

"What is a fact is that in 2009 QPAC hosted the Australian exclusive season of the Paris Opera Ballet, a production that could only be accommodated on two stages in the country.

"Brisbane also hosted the Australian premiere of Chicago and this year QPAC will host the Australian premiere of Calender Girls."

Currently Brisbane has the following venues.

QPAC: Lyric Theatre - 2000 seats
Concert Hall - 1800 seats
Playhouse - 850 seats
Cremourne Theatre - 300 seats.
Judith Wright Centre - 200 seats
Conservatorium Theatre - 700 seats
Powerhouse - 600 seats and 150 seat theatres

Permanent Link: Opposition Leader a Philistine to call Brisbane a Cultural Desert
Publish Date: 17 Mar 10

Article Contact Details

Queensland Government, Premier and Minister for Reconstruction :
PO Box 15185, City East QLD 4002, Brisbane
Phone: 07 3224 2111
Fax: 07 3229 2900

Comments / Have your say

Anna Bligh is (probably deliberately) missing the point, which is that Brisbane - unlike Sydney and Melbourne - does not have the capacity to hold two or more large theatre events at the same time. The Concert Hall may have 1800 seats, but it does not have the backstage capacity for a big musical or technically demanding play. The other venues play a role in Brisbane's wonderfully diverse funded, community and profit-share theatre secene, but are not big enough for large commercial shows, such as musicals. Because the Lyric Theatre is the only venue capable of housing these shows, long runs are impossible and, with very few exceptions, the premieres occur in Sydney or Melbourne, where there are many more large venues per head of population. If these large shows come to Brisbane, it is often several years after their Australian debut, and after many Queensland arts lovers have already flown south to see them - and taking their "arts dollar" with them. Restoring the Regent theatre in Brisbane to a large multipurpose venue would be a solution to this problem - and Ms Bligh knows it.

Brett Debritz of Brisbane

1 of 128th March 2010, 4.29pm
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