The world’s largest cabaret festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, returns this June featuring a star‑studded line‑up of comedy, theatre and music showcasing 79 performances over 12 nights, featuring local, national and international artists from United Kingdom, USA and Cuba.

Reuben Kaye. Photo by Kyahm Ross.

The festival will officially kick off with the decadent 2026 Variety Gala on Thursday 4 June at Festival Theatre, hosted by charismatic and daring Artistic Director Reuben Kaye.

Headline acts performing at Festival Theatre include:

Australian pop-rock group Lime Cordiale will give their ARIA chart-topping tunes a symphonic facelift in a special collaboration with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in their Adelaide premiere show.

Experience the talent behind the global phenomenon Jesus Christ Superstar in this exclusive, one‑night‑only event, as Australian stars from the Olivier Award‑winning production perform iconic songs and share behind‑the‑scenes stories in What’s The Buzz. Featuring Reuben Kaye, Mahalia Barnes, John O’Hara, Elliot Baker, Graeme Isaako, Javon King, Peter Murphy and Michael Paynter.

Adelaide audiences are treated to a one‑night‑only performance from Casey Donovan in This Is Me, as she brings Amy Winehouse’s iconic anthems to life with raw soul and unmistakable power.

Celebrated opera and Broadway star Alfie Boe makes his Adelaide Cabaret Festival debut alongside soprano Amy Manford, performing greatest hits and songs from Facing Myself. The festival closes with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox – The Future is Vintage, transforming modern hits into a high‑energy, vintage‑style party.

Audiences can indulge late into the night with Festival Late Nights, featuring a different show each week hosted by a rotating line‑up of artists including Gillian Cosgriff, Frankie McNair & Isaac Haigh, Tina Del Twist and Reuben Kaye. Kaye will also take to the stage with his award‑winning show The Kaye Hole on the penultimate night of the festival.

Lime Cordiale at Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Photo by Oliver Begg.

Festival highlights include:

  • In an Adelaide premiere, Em Rusciano presents Addicted to Love, an unfiltered take on romance, validation and the myths we’re sold.
  • National treasure Vince Jones returns to Adelaide Cabaret Festival with A Maverick’s Tale, celebrating five decades of Australian jazz through a selection of his most beloved classics.
  • Festival favourite Mahalia Barnes performs Bette Midler’s award‑winning The Rose, delivering a raw, late‑’60s tale of fame, addiction and heartbreak, punctuated by hits from women of the era.
  • Local legends Libby O’Donovan OAM and Michaela Burger bring Short, a high‑energy celebration of mega hits, tall tales and the power of small packages.
  • Adelaide Cabaret Festival Icon Award winner Paul Capsis joins Adam Noviello in HOUSE OF ROT: Grey Gardens, a haunting world‑premiere reimagining of the 1975 documentary exploring legacy, survival and collapse.
  • Australian rock icon Sarah McLeod gets up close and personal, sharing songs and wild stories from thirty years on stage.

Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026 is from 4 – 21 June at Adelaide Festival Centre.

More information from the 2026 Adelaide Cabaret Festival edition of WeekendPlus:

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