Pop-up poetry, theatrical performances and a blindfolded exploration of the senses are among the Anywhere Theatre Festival’s Sunshine Coast events, coordinated by two USC graduates.

Dr Nycole Prowse and Toni Wills, via their company Peripheral Arts, have coordinated 40 performances over three weeks from 10 May, many of which feature fellow USC graduates, staff and students.

Dr Prowse, who is also a USC academic, said the state-wide festival was held for the first time last year but had already doubled its event count on the Sunshine Coast, testament to the region’s outdoor culture.

“I really believe it is our lifestyle and our environment that encourages and fosters this culture of outdoor theatre,” she said.

“People tend to gravitate to performances that are in parks or on beaches.

“The festival features many events in non-conventional spaces. For example, someone is performing on top of a car in Caloundra while another event is being held at the Buderim swimming pool and another is on the beach. Our region really is ideal for the Anywhere Theatre Festival and in turn, these performances are activating the lovely spaces in our region.”

The University will host one event on 13 May at the Sippy Downs campus called The Cave, a musical exploration of Plato’s Allegory, in which the audience is invited to a 320-degree virtual environment.

There, world-class viola player Sally Clarke and cellist Louise King will perform a classical repertoire, while the audience is blindfolded.

At the Pop-Up Poetry event, USC students and alumni will perform traditional forms of verse as well as free form and prose at an address in Bli Bli on 12 May. USC alumnus Kate Barker has organised the performance with the USC Inklings, a university-based group of creative writers.

Fellow USC alumnus Anthony Borsato is staging The Divine Appeal of Medea at Montessori International College on 18 and 19 May.

Dr Prowse said the festival had attracted many volunteers from USC but they always welcomed more.

“This event is great for emerging producers, performers and creatives to cut their teeth in the industry, as well as front-of-house and backstage with the support and mentorship of a festival behind them,” she said.

Last year 20,000 people from the region attended the festival’s Sunshine Coast events.

A full list of the 2018 events across the Brisbane, Noosa and the Sunshine Coast is available at http://anywhere.is/

- Janelle Kirkland