That’s all from the liveblog today, we’ll be back tomorrow for another day of festival coverage, reviews and interviews. But in the meantime you can catch up with all of today's events. 

• My favourite work: Evicted by Blandford Fletcher – video
• Review: Calexico
• Review: Opus by Circa
• Guardian Australia's Brisbane festival podcast
• Circolombia's Urban – in pictures
• Review: Terrestrial Nerve by Bonemap
• Leo – when the floor becomes the ceiling – video

• Guardian Australia travelled with the assistance of Brisbane Festival, and accommodation was provided by Hilton Brisbane 

We've been taking advantage of there being so many actors in town by questioning them about what their dream roles would be. Ben Neutze asked Sheridan Harbridge, whose show, Songs for the Fallen, opens tomorrow at QUT's Theatre Republic and plays until Sunday to list her top three.

Liz Taylor

The ultimate dame. She's one scotch-swilling hoot. In a musical bio. Because that shouldn't happen.

Amy Winehouse as Dorothy Gale

I have an instinct that Amy Winehouse starring in The Wizard of Oz would just be something. Really something.

Anything, anything in Game of Thrones

A slave. A queen. A warrior. A strumpet. A tit.

It's almost the time of the week when thoughts turn to the weekend – particularly when there's a whole array of festival treats on offer. Catching my eye are the Sunday afternoon jazz line-ups in the Spiegeltent – which this week plays host to two Australian acts: the Gai Bryant Quintent, and Shannon Marshall and the Souls Almighty. 

Last Sunday you'd have found Andrew P Street among the happy crowd. His review of the Catherine Lambert and Dan's Hot Five doublebill suggests it's quite the perfect way to while away a Sunday afternoon.

Andrew P Street writes

If you were wondering whether a Sunday jazz gig for Brisbane Festival was a good idea, this sold-out performance telegraphed an enthusiastic yes well before doors opened. The line for the Spiegeltent snaked all the way down the side of the venue, arced around at the toilets and then followed the fenceline up to the door again. People, it would appear, enjoy this “jazz” thing.

The demographic was wide and varied too: middle aged folks, septegenarians, middle-aged folks helping septegenarians, well-dressed hipsters, confused-looking children: they all poured into the Spiegeltent to enjoy two sets on this balmy Sunday afternoon.

First up were Dan's Hot Five who were very much rocking the trad-jazz tip, skittering through a set that included Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey, Pennies from Heaven, Sweet Georgia Brown – which inspired the couple behind me to loudly argue over whether it was “that song from the basketball” - and other principally early 20th century numbers. The quintet of trumpet, clarinet, double bass, banjo and washboard kept it lively, everyone got their moments to shine, and the musicianship was first rate. And I now need to find myself a good copy of Muskrat Ramble, which has been in my head ever since.

The headliner, however, was Adelaide's first lady of jazz: Catherine Lambert. Playing with a pick-up band of jazz pros, she set the tone for her set from the get go: self-mocking diva (“Is my hair big enough? I couldn't take my aerosol on the plane”) and sexual predator, mixing them both in the rambling science-fiction inflected monologue that opened her performance that began as a message of gratitude to her mother for driving her to the airport, and ended with a potential explanation for why aliens insist on anal probing their Earthling captives. It made sense at the time, I'm fairly sure.

In any case, any doubts about her talent – not to say sanity – were alleviated the second she burst into Nice Work If You Can Get It, where her casual phrasing and whisper-to-bellow dynamics kept the band on their toes. And they were up for it, even as Lambert purred instructions during the songs (“I want Fats Waller barrelhouse piano here, David, use your shoulders; Raphael, I want some really filthy, filthy tenor saxophone”).

Her effortless direction of the band made for a thoroughly entertaining set, especially her signature tune Ain't Misbehavin', but when she dropped the sass for a heartstring snapping What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? you could have heard a pin drop. She's good when she's funny, but when she plays it straight Lambert kills. What a civilised way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Molly Glassey has been out on South Bank on a lovely sunny afternoon taking the festival temperature. So what do people in the city think about the festival?

Benjamin Graham on South Bank live performances

"I've just moved down to Brisbane from Toowoomba… I came down for the light show, but was just a bit late. I saw some bands though. I came down after uni some afternoons as well, and there’s always bands playing. Its good to see culture all around – that's what makes it pretty good.”

Joshua Robinson on City of Lights

“I’ve seen similar sort of things before – not quite the same. I’ve never seen dancers on springs. They have these three dancers on springs in the middle – the water was coming down, the lights were everywhere, and the music was on. They had all these big things – that made it a bit different. It was quite short though – maybe 15 minutes. Actually very short. But I had nothing else to do.”

Magdalene Rensing, from Germany, on South Bank live performances

“We just watched a performance and went to the city. They were dancing and the leader was singing and playing on instruments, and all the others were just playing and acting the story. It was interesting… but different.

“We only stayed for 20 minutes – I want to see the light show and fireworks but don’t really know any of the bands. If I was around town, maybe I would see them.” 

Tim Crouch spent much of his early career playing peripheral characters in Shakespeare plays. Years later, he’s playing the same characters, but through his own work has dragged them into the spotlight. (I, Malvolio, his show at Brisbane Powerhouse reimagines Twelfth Night through the character's eyes).

Ben Neutze has been talking to the actor about why: “It’s a uniquely frustrating thing, standing at the side going: ‘My character has a lot to say, so why am I not being given the opportunity to say it?’” Crouch says. Which is definitely an interesting starting point.

Ben Neutze writes

Crouch was initially asked by the Brighton festival in the UK to create a Shakespeare-based piece for younger audiences. He found his way into the plays and a way of connecting with young people through the characters that don’t traditionally get a chance to shine. “Young audiences, I think, are often treated as peripheral characters in the ‘main play’. The ‘main play’ being life. There’s the idea of being on the periphery, on the sidelines and being left behind.”

Crouch began with I, Caliban, where he assumed the role of The Tempest’s abandoned, ‘puppy-headed monster’. Then, in a similar vein came I, Peaseblossom, I, Banquo and most recently, the Twelfth Night-inspired, I, Malvolio.

This year marks Crouch’s 10th year of creating his own work. He says he’s found a joy in creative freedom and completely turned his career around. “I was sniping from the sidelines. I was a miserable, bitchy fucker going, ‘what are they doing? Why are they doing that? What’s happening in theatre?’”

Crouch has taken enormous creative liberties in I, Malvolio – audience members literally kick Malvolio’s ass, attempt to hang him, and he appears, for just a moment, in a leather thong. But while his productions take an irreverent and subversive look at Shakespeare, it all comes from a deep love and incredible respect for the Bard’s work.

“I don’t mean it in a kind of frosty history professor kind of way, but it’s really important for young audiences to know that they are part of a continuum. We’re 400 years down the road and the idea of what a play is is still modelled on what he did.”

Christian Bennett and Ben Neutze have made this film about Julian Schulz and his show Leo. The work touches on perception and uses a mixture of physical movement and technological trickery to turn a room on its side. Schulz caught up with Guardian Australia before his first gravity-defying show to talk about what happens when the wall becomes the floor
You can catch Leo at the Brisbane Powerhouse until 22 Sept

There's been some interesting work at Theatre Republic in the week we've been here. Van Badham went to see some inter-disciplinary performance based around the weather by Bonemap. Terrestrial Nerve was not the finished article, she thought, but rather a work in progress. You can read her two-star review in full here. You'll find an extract below.

There is some very strong material on offer within Terrestrial Nerve, but its best effects are not sustained. For a performance that seeks to be immersive, the potential of its venue is under-realised, with a disproportional amount of the choreography taking place in the narrow triangulation of the fans, mirror and projector wall and ignoring the marvellous shadows of the room's nebulous corners.

While some of the design elements are captivating - a sheared red dress, for example, allows a dancer to float in the fan-circle like an autumn leaf - other decisions detract rather than enhance from the technical accomplishment of the dancing. An interlude in which a dancer emerges dressed like a hybrid of an Addams family cousin and a large bantam hen was most confusing.

When we sent Van Badham to Urban by Circolombia, she was blown away by the Colombian circus troupe's show. You can read her review of it here. So Peter Barnes headed down to South Bank and the Piazza to spend some time with the performers rehearsing. This gallery of pictures catches the physicality of the show – and some slightly terrifying moments too. You'll find a few of them below, or click to see the whole gallery.

You'll find the gallery here: Urban by Circolombia – in pictures 

Time for another edition of our festival podcast, which you can listen to here. 

Today's podcast comes from the riverbank of the Brisbane Powerhouse – we were liveblogging from the venue yesterday, and have this lovely gallery of images from the graffitied former power station. I chat to new artistic director Kris Stewart about what to expect under his leadership and try to get to the bottom of why Australians love festivals so much.

We also get a taste of the Brisbane band scene from James Lees who has been programming the Festival Stage, which has for the first time had a greater focus on local Brisbane bands. The program is a nod to the Brisbane band scene's past and present with a diverse range of local tunes. We asked James to give us a bit of a musical sampler and he introduces us to Cheap Fakes , Michelle Xen & the Neon Wild and indigenous hip hop group Classik Nawu .

Plus Andrew, Ben and Vicky talk about their non-festival discoveries. Andrew shares possibly the most amazing brownie (with Turkish delight inside!) with The Greats who run music venue and cafe/bar the South Side Tea Room; Ben talks about meeting Wesley Enoch; and Vicky goes on a pottery binge at the BrisStyle markets.

 You can subscribe via iTunes, or download the mp3. And if you want to catch up with earlier episodes, you'll find them all below.

• Brisbane festival podcast episode three
• Brisbane festival podcast episode two
• Brisbane festival podcast episode one

Brisbane and circus have a special connection – and we just caught local company Circa's show Opus before it closed earlier this week. If you didn't, the company are currently on a European tour in Germany and France, where they are hugely popular. Ben Neutze has reviewed the show in full for us here, but here's an excerpt from his review to give you a flavour. It sounds like an intense, involving evening

Opus is more like a super-acrobatic contemporary dance piece than circus. There's absolutely no dialogue, minimal costumes, minimal set and minimal silliness. The acrobats leap and bound with startling skill and athleticism, displaying an incredible synergy as a team. Taking place on a large, empty stage the segments range from solo trapeze acts and acrobatic duos, through to moments where all 14 performers fill the stage with almost violent movement.

Joining them is Quatuor Debussy, a French string quartet acclaimed for their renditions of the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. The composer's widow is a fan of the quartet, having suggested that they record his entire 10-hour quartet cycle after seeing them play. The musicians know his musically intimately and manage to draw out both the darkest notes and most tender moments. They're also very much a part of the action, moving around the stage and interacting with the acrobats.

Our first review of the day comes from Andrew P Street, who went to see Calexico and special (or maybe not) guest Bernard Fanning at the Spiegeltent, where they play again tonight. Andrew found the band hampered by the venue – sitting down at a Calexico gig isn't really the point – and was less than impressed by Fanning's appearance, but was won over by Calexico's joyous performance.

You can read his four-star review in full here, but here's a short extract

This is a band who clearly just dig playing: all seven members were grinning at one another, noting private musical in-jokes as they rollicked through a set that began with the appropriately-titled Epic and ended with the Mexican knees-up of Guero Canelo.

In between came the shuffling juggernaut Splitter, the gorgeous balladry of Yours and Mine, the spirited brass of No Te Vayas and a couple of sly covers – Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart appeared in the middle of the rockin' Not Even Stevie Nicks, while Love's mighty Alone Again Or nearly took the Spiegeltent roof off. Frontman Joey Burns greeted each cheer with a beautific smile, ceding the limelight to his colleagues as appropriate.

Guardian Australia's intern Molly Glassey has been seeing what Twitter made of last night's festival shows. Here's a glimpse of what Brisbane thought of Calexico, City of Lights, Doku Rai, and A Western

Over at QUT's Theatre Republic, Ben Neutze has been chatting with director Stephen Nicolazzo about his show Psycho Beach Party, which plays until the end of the month

Ben Neutze writes

There was a moment two months before rehearsals began for Psycho Beach Party when director Stephen Nicolazzo considered pulling the show. There was $20,000 of his own money at stake, and the play was due to premiere in Sydney, a city that hadn’t shown him or his theatrical aesthetic much love up until that point.

“I was so terrified,” he says. “I thought, ‘is this going to be perceived as idiotic? Is it going to work?’”

Charles Busch’s 1987 Off-Broadway camp, cult, comedy classic draws its inspiration from 1950s and 1960s B-grade surfer and slasher films. The action centres on Chicklet, a Gidget-esque surfer chick with multiple personality disorder, and a horrifying spate of serial pubic hair shavings.

Nicolazzo’s production fits right into his directorial line of queer theatre, with a bright, bold aesthetic, a set of wall-to-floor leopard print and Ash Flanders in fine subversive, form as Chicklet.

“There’s no longer this idea that the queer theatre is just about gay and lesbian coming out stories or AIDS tragedies. There’s something more to it. For me, it’s exploring the fluidity and construction of various genders that’s key to my practice under the queer umbrella,” Nicolazzo says.

But at the beginning of his career, the director was discouraged from pursuing queer theatre. “It can be a hard task. There was a dismissive attitude about it just being frivolous with glitz and glam. There’s an assumption that there isn’t an intelligence behind the decisions being made, when of course there is. There’s a political undertone, but you can always use a light or fantastical element to portray meaning.”

The success of Psycho Beach Party is part of a movement that’s seeing queer theatre gaining wider audiences across Australia. Companies such as Sisters Grimm and Nicolazzo’s own Little Ones Theatre are seeing their work picked up by major festivals and collaborating with companies including Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company.

Nicolazzo believes audiences’ interests are well and truly piqued and there’s a broader acknowledgement of queer voices within the spectrum of Australian theatre. “From my point of view, Australian theatre is made by Australians, [it’s] not about what our grand narrative is.”

• Psycho Beach Party, The Loft, QUT Theatre Republic, until Sept 28 

We return to Queensland Art Gallery for the latest of our videos from Christian Bennett and Van Badham in which Qagoma curators guide us through their favourite pieces at QAG and the Gallery of Modern Art. Here, David Burnett, curator of international art, introduces Evicted by Blandford Fletcher. A Victorian narrative painting showing the story of a dispossessed widow and her child, forced to leave their home while the village look on, it tells of one of the many consequences of industrialisation. 

• My favourite work: War and Peace by Ian Fairweather
• My favourite work: Ressort by Huang Yong Ping
• My favourite work: Neither Pride nor Courage by Vernon Ah Kee

Good morning, and welcome to a sunny Wednesday at the Brisbane festival. We've been blogging from the festival all week, and have plenty of reviews, interviews and video to bring you today. But first, catch up with all our coverage from yesterday

• Tuesday's liveblog – the festival as it happened
• Review: When Time Stops
• Video: My favourite work: War and peace by Ian Fairweather
• Review: Doku Rai band
• Guardian Australia's Brisbane festival podcast – episode three
• Ben Neutze interviews David Berthold about independent theatre
• Andrew P Street interviews Calexico frontman Joey Burns
• In pictures: Guardian Australia at Brisbane Powerhouse