Cloudland The Musical

QUT Gardens Theatre

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Take a nostalgic trip back to Brisbane's iconic ballroom as Cloudland The Musical takes to the stage at the QUT Gardens Theatre from November 10-14, 2021.

With a cast of over 30 singers, dancers, musicians and actors, including some of Queensland's newest and brightest talent, the show will take audiences on a nostalgic musical trip, featuring the music of the top musicians and bands who played there over the years.

For over 40 years, Cloudland, the beloved hilltop ballroom sat overlooking Brisbane, where three generations of residents had the time of their lives at the city's best balls and concerts. An integral part of the most defining decades of popular music in Australia, Cloudland was demolished in the early hours of the morning on November 7, 1982, shocking Brisbane and leaving a gap that would never be filled.

Cloudland Ballroom was no ordinary music venue and this is no ordinary Musical. During the 43 years of its existence, The Bee Gees, Buddy Holly, Dragon, The Angels, Jerry Lee Lewis, INXS, Cold Chisel, Johnny O’Keefe, Midnight Oil, Australian Crawl, Normie Rowe, Mental as Anything, Split Enz, Madness, The Stray Cats and more performed on Cloudland's stage.

This musical score has then been woven into a storyline which is based on real events. The story follows the lives of 3 generations of a typical Brisbane family and the way in which Cloudland Ballroom influences and impacts each of their lives, from the post war 40’s to early 80’s, featuring music across these decades.

“To write a Musical about an inanimate object such as a building required some thinking outside the box.” Paul Hayman, writer, director and producer of Cloudland the Musical explains; “As when it stood, Cloudland continues to live in the hearts and minds of those who went there. It’s these memories I have drawn upon to help bring our ‘Hero’, Cloudland Ballroom, to life. This was more than just another venue. Cloudland Ballroom was the cultural and social hub of Brisbane for over 40 years. It’s an important part of Queensland’s history and its memory needs to be preserved by current and future generations.”