Julia Zemiro named artistic director for Adelaide Cabaret Festival: “There will always be shiny.”

TV and stage personality Julia Zemiro is pretty confident about her new role as artistic director for the 2019 Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

“I love to perform but I love to be entertained and I give good audience,” she says.

She expands: “My mission has always been to have audiences and artists leave a gig feeling good.

“Nothing moves me more than watching someone singing on stage, be it from side of stage in the wings at Rockwiz, or from a commentary box in the Gods of a stadium in Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest.

“Or indeed filming Home Delivery and busking with Billy Bragg at (his local) Barking train station (the police moved us on).

“What thrills me about cabaret is the combination of the political, the personal, the sublime, and the dangerous. It soars like nothing else.  

“There is dread around us in the world. And we keep trying to find ways to cut through the noise.

“I look forward to shaping a festival for you big on ideas, emotions, languages and all things shiny. There will always be shiny.”

At the close of this year’s festival, she was welcomed aboard onstage at the Pol Roger Backstage Club by Adelaide Festival Centre CEO & artistic director Douglas Gautier and outgoing artistic director Ali McGregor.

Zemiro is best known for her TV work as host of Rockwiz, Home Delivery, Eurovision, Good News Week, Totally Full Frontal and the upcoming All Together Now.

She trained at the Victorian College of the Arts and honed her skills through Bell Shakespeare in schools, musical theatre improv and sketch comedy.

She starred as Bronya of Eurobeat the Eurovision musical on a national tour.  She then went on to host and commentate the real Eurovision Song Contest for eight years with Sam Pang on SBS.

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is heralded as the biggest in the world.

In 2018 it delivered 53 shows over 16 days and nights.  Over 40 sold out.

There were 20 world, 10 Australian and 11 Adelaide premieres.

During Ali McGregor’s three year tenure as AD, she introduced more Adelaide and international names than ever before.

She said, “This has been the most challenging and rewarding job of my career.”