Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Review: The Dream MENAGERIE at the Courier Mail SPIEGELTENT

by

THE DREAM MENAGERIE

I wasn’t sure how to write this review. Quite perplexed actually. Just not sure what I just saw. Was it a circus act? A vaudeville performance? A comical mystery?

Or was it just a dream?

I was attending the Dream Menagerie, a new act for the annual Brisbane festival, under the guise of the Courier Mail’s SPIEGELTENT (mirror tent) at the King George Square.

The Dream merchants in this act would like you to believe that what you are seeing is not real. You are in a dream or a trance like state. There are “acts” and these are shared between a ring master, a midget, a big wannabe soprano, a French illusionist and a couple of other characters. They all work together to create an atmosphere that is anything but normal. There is magic, there is singing, there are contortionist performances and there is a donkey.

The crowd favourite moment involved the midget, a bucket on a rope and lots of bubbles. You have to be there to experience it. It was magical.

Not sure if it is suitable for small children – not because of the acts themselves, but because of loud music and strobe lighting in a secluded space; considering that this show doesn’t start till 9 PM, the Brisbane Festival people don’t want to encourage children either. Which is a shame as the show is sure to delight kids of all ages (notwithstanding the loud music and strobe lightning).

The setting itself is quite spectacular. The Spiegeltent (mirror tent) is a work of art and if you happen to be in Brisbane city, stroll down to King George square to admire it and have a drink or two in the attached beer and wine garden (better still at night).

THE COURIER-MAIL SPIEGELTENT

All the details

What is it? The Dream Menagerie – a combined comedy, circus and performance show.

How much? $42 for adults and $32 for kids.

Where? At the Courier Mail Spiegeltent in King George Square.

When? On now till Sep 24th at 9 PM. There is no show on Mondays.

CraftGossip attended the show courtesy of Brisbane Festival.

Read These Next

Have you read?

Crow Cross Stitch Patterns

In all my years writing about cross stitch, I don’t think I’ve ever had a post dedicated to crow cross stitch patterns. That’s a shame, because crows are cool, and they’re a great motif to use in the fall that has a bit of a Halloween/spooky vibe without necessarily being all pumpkins and ghosts (though we have some of that, too). 

Actually, these little crow cross stitch patterns from LaSelva Design could be up in the house year round, especially if you’ve made friends with crows or are trying to cultivate your own murder. This set of four patterns is each worked in four colors, and they’re shown in 3-inch hoops, though they vary in size a little bit. 

This Art Nouveau crow from Needle Lot Designs is stunning and reminds me a bit of a tarot card. It would be the perfect thing to stitch for a witchy friend. It measures 74 by 98 stitches, which comes out to 5.25 by 7 inches or 13.4 by 17.8 cm on 14 count fabric. It uses 14 colors and has no backstitching. 

Or keep it monochrome with PandoraXstitch‘s cross cross stitch pattern. I love how this one looks like a woodcut, and it shows you that even stitching in a single color you can make something really interesting. This design is 283 by 284 stitches, which is a little more than 20 inches or 51.5 cm not quite square on 14 count fabric. The pattern includes measurements for other counts if you want to make it a different size. 

The Book of Lost Keys design from Haunted Frames feels a little more Halloween, but it doesn’t have to be. It tells the story of a mama crow whose baby is locked in a cage, but the mama has the key. The design is shown worked on 18 count fabric and measures 109 by 79 stitches. That’s 6.1 by 4.4 inches, or about 15.5 by 11 cm. It uses four colors of regular floss as well as gold metallic floss. 

Speaking of more Halloween, I love this spooky cake stand featuring a crow and other characters from Ulysses Blue Stitching. You’ll find a creepy cake, eyeball in a jar, owl, ghosts and more haunting this house. It uses nine colors and measure 109 by 143 stitches. That’s 7.4 by 9.8 inches or 19.78 by 25.94 cm on 14 count fabric. 

I also like this kind of folk art crow (or raven as the pattern calls it) sitting on a pumpkin from MIYAstitch. This one measures a manageable 71 by 81 stitches and uses seven colors. On 14 count fabric it comes out to a little more than 5 by almost 6 inches (or 13 by 15 cm). 

Another pumpkin and crow pattern (this time with a witch hat) comes from My Lovely Embroidery MB. This dare I say cute design uses seven colors as well ans is 81 by 80 stitches. That measures 5.79 by 5.71 inches, or 14.7 by 14.51 cm, on 14 count fabric. This one uses full and three-quarter stitches as well as French knots.