Canberra Cabaret Festival 2026

Do we have a treat for you! THE CANBERRA CABARET FESTIVAL IS BACK!

We have three wonderful nights of cabaret with Deborah O’Toole, Janie Lawson and Dave Collins at ACT Hub from 19 to 21 February 2026. Each night features a different pairing of performers, offering three distinct shows in one intimate venue.

• 19th February – Deborah O’Toole and Dave Collins
• 20th February – Deborah O’Toole and Janie Lawson
• 21st February – Janie Lawson and Dave Collins

Expect songs and stories, cracking vocals, and a few much-loved favourites from films, musicals, and beyond! ACT Hub is a lovely intimate venue just right for an evening of Cabaret.

Together, these works capture what the Canberra Cabaret Festival does best. They place local artists front and centre, invite audiences into intimate stories, and remind us that cabaret is at its strongest when it is brave, personal and a little bit cheeky.

The Canberra Cabaret Festival returns in 2026, reclaiming its place at ACT Hub after a brief but necessary hiatus. Last presented in 2023, the festival was created to celebrate cabaret as an artform that thrives on intimacy, honesty and a direct connection between performer and audience. While the festival paused in 2024 and 2025, the spirit behind it never went away. This year marks its long-awaited return, bringing with it a renewed sense of purpose and a lineup that reflects the depth and diversity of local storytelling.

This year’s festival showcases three distinct voices, each offering a deeply personal take on life, love and the choices that shape us.

DNA The Cabaret: A journey of identity, discovery, and new beginnings.

Janie Lawson, accompanied by Callum Tolhurst-Close, shares a powerful and tender story of discovering a new family later in life – exploring identity, connection and what it means to belong.

• Janie has been entertaining audiences for more than 30 years having performed in musicals, plays, cabarets, and corporate events locally, interstate and in the USA. 

Matters of the Heart: A show about LOVE – with a cliche-free guarantee!

Deborah O’Toole, with Caleb Campbell, presents a cabaret centred on love in its many forms – heartfelt, humorous and deeply human.

• Deborah is a versatile vocalist with a dynamic 30+ year career spanning music theatre, film, television, session work, corporate and tribute bands, and the Australian Army Band, with highlights including Les Misérables (Cameron Mackintosh 10th Anniversary Production), BABBA, The Dusty Springfield Show, and leading roles in community productions such as Come From Away, Mamma Mia, Shrek, Guys and Dolls and Into the Woods.

Dave 101: An Introduction To Poor Life Choices

Rounding out the program, Dave Collins delivers Dave 101: An Introduction to Poor Life Choices, a sharp, self-aware cabaret that leans into missteps, hindsight and the comedy that can be found in surviving your own decisions.

• Dave is one of Canberra’s most versatile vocalists, with a career spanning across television, stage, pantomime, big‑band leading, corporate events, and a broad range of musical theatre productions from local to international.

Details

When: 19 February – 21 February 2026
Where:
ACT Hub
Causeway Hall, Kingston
14 Spinifex Street, Kingston ACT 2604