Emmy® Award-Winning phenomenon Bluey is coming home to Brisbane!
Grab the sticky geckos, break out the duck cakes, and alert the grannies! Australia’s much loved Heeler family is returning to Bluey’s hometown of Brisbane with the original live show, Bluey’s Big Play The Stage Show.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), in association with BBC Studios, Andrew Kay and Windmill Theatre Co., is thrilled to announce that the original live show Bluey’s Big Play will return to QPAC’s Playhouse in Brisbane for an exclusive season from 30 December 2023 to 20 January 2024.
The Emmy® Award-winning animated preschool series Bluey is the number one kids show on Australian broadcast television and the most-watched series ever on ABC iview. A global phenomenon, Bluey is viewed in over 60 countries and screens on Disney Junior, Disney Channel, and Disney+.
The first-ever theatrical adaptation of the television series, Bluey’s Big Play premiered in Brisbane in 2020 featuring an original story by Brisbane’s own Bluey creator Joe Brumm and new music by Brisbane-based Bluey composer, Joff Bush.
Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chilli star in this captivating live theatre show featuring puppetry and iconic sets, exclusively at QPAC these summer school holidays.
Director of Bluey’s Big Play and Artistic Director of Windmill Theatre Co. Rosemary Myers said the producers could not be more excited to collaborate with QPAC again to bring the hit live show back to Bluey’s hometown.
“This is very much a homecoming for the show which had its world premiere in QPAC’s Playhouse in December 2020. Bluey’s birthplace is Brisbane, with many of its incredible creative team from Queensland. It was very fitting that we co presented Bluey’s Big Play with Queensland’s performing arts centre and opened its premiere season there.
“After a sell-out QPAC season the show went on to break children’s entertainment box office records across Australia performing 447 times across 65 venues. I am sure fans are aware Bluey has taken America by storm both on and off screen, with Bluey making a debut appearance in Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Bluey’s Big Play premiering at Madison Square Garden in New York, and where we have been delighted to the reaction this home-grown show continues to receive as it continues to tour all over the U.S. and Canada,” she said.
“We know how much love there is out there for Bluey. It was both thrilling and an honour to translate these brilliant characters into the three-dimensional and we can’t wait to share this special experience with new and returning audiences in Queensland again.”
QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas welcomed the announcement of Bluey’s return home again and said QPAC was proud to play host to the exclusive 2024 Australian season of the much-loved Heeler’s stage show.
“Brisbane has an extra special connection to Bluey having hosted the world premiere of the stage show and being Bluey’s hometown, there’s no doubt our audiences feel that when they experience this production,” he said.
“Bluey is an incredible Brisbane creative success story and we’re very proud to have been part of the creation and presentation of this theatrical work that brought the beloved Bluey characters and stories from the screen to the stage.
“It reflects our longstanding commitment to children’s participation in the arts and to collaborating with local companies to create new works and share unique Australian stories on stage,” said Mr Kotzas.
This is Bluey’s Big Play, For Real Life. When Dad feels like a little bit of Sunday afternoon time out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans! Join them as they pull out all of the games and cleverness at their disposal to get Dad off that bean bag.
“There’s no better show to inspire a lifelong love of the stage in your littlies,” The Courier-Mail.
Bluey’s Big Play is a live theatre show featuring brilliantly created puppets. It runs in QPAC’s Playhouse from 30 December 2023 to 20 January 2024.
Tickets start at $44 and are on sale now at https://www.qpac.com.au/event/bluey_23