Bonjour et bienvenue!
Brisbane French Theatre, the best (and only) francophone theatre company in Queensland, Australia, presents fun, contemporary plays for theatregoers of all ages.
Founded in 2017, our theatre is a dynamic creative centre that puts on original works by our playwright in residence.
Our plays are performed in French with English subtitles projected above the stage, so our francophone, francophile and non-French speaking audiences can enjoy their culture fix.
As a not-for-profit art organisation, we rely on the support and hard work of a passionate, talented team of volunteers. Another hallmark of our productions is presenting new talent, and Brisbane French Theatre is always on the lookout for new team members who want to join our adventures.
General Director: Isabelle Johnson
Artistic Director: Thomas Smith
Our story
Initially brought together by Growl Theatre in 2015 and again in 2016 to produce the first-ever plays performed entirely in French in Brisbane: Life x 3, and Carnage, both by Yasmina Reza, the founding members of Brisbane French Theatre officially created a separate not-for-profit art organisation in 2017.
Our inaugural 2017 season saw us produce two acclaimed French plays: The Student and Mr Henri (by Ivan Calberac), and Pendant ce temps Simone Veille (by Trinidad, Corinne Berron, Bonbon, Vanina Sicurani, Hélène Serres).
In 2018, the BFT produced its first 100% original play: Helas Avril, a goofy romantic comedy set in the Paris metro that sold out and attracted our largest audience at the time.
In 2019, the BFT produced two ambitious original works: Repeat after me, a bilingual coming-of-age sell-out comedy & Notre-Dame, a 20-minute musical performed at the Brisbane French Festival in South Bank.
In 2020, the production of BFT’s ominously named, original play, C’est pas le moment, was interrupted by the Covid pandemic.Brisbane French theatre came back in a bang in 2021 with a new extremely well received original play, Les uns contre les autres, presented at the Queensland Multicultural Centre.