After skipping a couple of events due to the pandemic and other happenings, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) is set to return the biennial Out of the Box festival from 17 to 22 June 2025. This vibrant event will once again take over the entire venue, welcoming children aged eight and under for a week filled with arts-rich participatory experiences.
Since its inception in 1992, more than a million children have attended Out of the Box. After a seven-year hiatus, the festival returns with an extensive line-up of performances, workshops, free events, and exhibitions, designed specifically for young audiences. This is not just a QPAC initiative however, but rather expanding across the South Bank Cultural Precinct, with them partnering with Queensland Museum, State Library of Queensland, and QAGOMA to deliver activities across the Queensland Culture Centre.
The 2025 festival theme is HOPE, represented through the large-scale Tree of Hope art installation across the Cultural Centre. The project showcases artworks by Queensland children, bringing their visions of hope to life. As part of the festival’s regional outreach, schools in remote and regional Queensland will also create their own Trees of Hope, celebrating the hopes and dreams of the next generation.
Out of the Box 2025 will feature three world premieres:
- Wolfgang in the Stars: Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble, this production in the Concert Hall follows a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on a space journey to find inspiration for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” blending acrobatics, humour, and video projections.
- Where is the Green Sheep?: A stage adaptation of Mem Fox and Judy Horacek’s beloved book by Monkey Baa Theatre Company and QPAC, combining puppetry, animation, and the voices of children to bring the story to life.
- Gurril Storm Bird: An adaptation of Trevor (Bumi) Fourmile’s prize-winning book, presented in collaboration with the jarjum from Hymba Yumba Independent School, Yidinji Traditional Owners, and First Nations creatives, transforming the Cremorne Theatre into an immersive storytelling experience.
Additionally, the festival will see the return of The Gruffalo, based on the award-winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, in the Lyric Theatre after sell-out seasons worldwide.
Out of the Box 2025 goes beyond traditional theatre spaces, featuring interactive performances and workshops, including:
- Club Origami by Sydney Dance Company, blending dance, live music, and origami.
- The Lost Lending Library by Punchdrunk Enrichment, a magical immersive theatre experience encouraging children’s imagination and storytelling.
- Wonderbox by Sensorium Theatre, a sensory-rich performance for young audiences with disabilities.
- Little Chefs Cooking Workshop with QPAC chefs.
- Mindful Me health and wellbeing sessions.
- Sing on Country music workshop with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Songwoman Jessie Lloyd.
- Bluey Puppetry Workshop, where children can create and animate their own sock puppets inspired by the hit TV series.
The festival also features a For Mothers workshop each morning, offering new mums a creative space to explore ancestral practices alongside their babies.
Free drop-in events include contributing to the Tree of Hope and joining Let’s Dance!, a giant dance party on the Melbourne Street Green. The QPAC Tunnel will feature the Jarjum Life Museum by Inala Wangarra, celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s stories and extending the experience through the Jarjum PlaySpace. The festival will also include cultural experiences across the South Bank Cultural Centre, with workshops at QAGOMA, Queensland Museum, and the State Library of Queensland.
Minister for Education and the Arts, John-Paul Langbroek, praised the festival’s return, sharing:
The festival’s program of hands-on arts and innovative productions will inspire creative learning for children, their parents and carers, as well as their teachers.
Out of the Box will span the entire South Bank Cultural Centre precinct with the Art Box for Kids project and Moments of Wonder workshops at QAGOMA, Spirits of the Wild workshops at Queensland Museum, and the State Library of Queensland’s Scavenger Hunt.
For 40 years, QPAC has presented vibrant, high-quality programs for audiences of all ages, bolstering the state’s reputation as a prime arts and cultural destination.
Furthermore, QPAC’s new Chief Executive, Rachel Healy, also celebrated the return of Out of the Box:
Out of the Box is, without doubt, one of our most loved and most impactful events and we couldn’t be happier to be announcing its return. When QPAC first launched Out of the Box in 1992, no one could have predicted the enduring legacy this special festival would have.
It fills our hearts to meet parents bringing their children to the festival that they themselves attended as a kindy kid, and to see teachers passionate about their students attending because their own love of the arts began at Out of the Box.
One of the key ingredients in the festival’s success has been the commitment to putting children at its centre. Every step of the Out of the Box journey is taken with children in mind, from the development of new work and the curation of in-theatre productions and workshops through to the thoughtfully adapted onsite experience to ensure a welcoming and child-friendly environment.
