Midsumma Festival 2026 – quick links
It’s time to roll out the rainbow carpet! Midsumma Festival is back, back, back again and ready to paint the town with 22 days of sun-kissed queer joy from 18 January to 8 February.
Before the famous Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras kicks off in February, Melbourne’s own massive celebration of LGBTQIA+ community, arts and culture leads the charge with a packed program of over 200 events across more than 150 venues across Victoria.
This year’s theme is Time and Place, an invitation to consider where we’ve come from, where we stand, and where we are brave enough to go next. The program invites audiences to immerse themselves in artistic expressions of lived experience across gender and sexuality, intersecting histories, cultures, life stages and new ideas. Expect performances that move you, exhibitions that inspire, conversations that matter – and a whole lot of radical queer joy in spite of the headlines.
Below you’ll find key festival events and some artistic offerings that have caught our attention.
Essential Midsumma Festival Dates
Midsumma Carnival
This free, full-day outdoor extravaganza kicks off this year’s Midsumma celebrations. Expect some 120,000 people to rock up and explore over 200 stalls including pop-up bars, two large food zones and multiple queer-friendly community groups and businesses.
The Main Stage features performances from Kita Mean (winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 1) and a variety of sneak peek performances from the festival program hosted by cabaret queen Milo Hartill. Over at the Picnic Stage, audiences can expect a spotlight on cabaret and comedy, as well as Lip Sync Limelight hosted by Frock Hudson.
January 18, 11am-late. Alexandra Gardens. Further info here.
Midsumma Pride March
Thousands of people will sashay their way down Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, for this iconic annual celebration of LGBTQIA+ solidarity – marching for visibility, for joy, and for justice – and culminating in festivities at Catani Gardens with DJs and performances. The march begins with the roaring motors of Dykes on Bikes, as per tradition, and is led by the Rainbow Mob and LGBTQIA+ youth contingents.
1 February, 10.30am-3.30pm. March starts at Ian Johnson Oval, participants proceed down Fitzroy St and finish in Catani Gardens. Further info here.
Victoria’s Pride Street Party
Melbourne’s hottest queer street party is back to close out the festival and spread joy throughout Fitzroy. Smith and Gertrude Streets transform into a fun-filled block party for all – packed with performances across multiple stages, DJ stations, shopfronts and plenty of food and drinks from local businesses.
8 February, 12pm-late. Smith and Gertrude Streets, Fitzroy. Further info here.
Midsumma’s Best Theatre, Comedy & Performative Antics
Milo Hartill: Black, Fat and F**gy
How do you tell the story of a mixed race, fat, bisexual, underwear model, performer and Instagram influencer? You sing the shit out of a fistful of killer songs in a brand spanking new cabaret, of course.
Following a five-star world premiere in Sydney, Milo Hartill brings this rambunctious solo show to Chapel Off Chapel. She delves into personal stories, belts out songs ranging from Mousse T to Nina Simone, and kicks around some doubtless controversial opinions on the current state of the influencer, theatre and singing scenes in Australia – and she will leave audiences screaming with joy.
4-5 February, 8pm. Chapel off Chapel, Prahran. Further info and tickets here.
Trans Theatre Festival
The inaugural Trans Theatre Festival is set to take over the Malthouse Theatre following rave reviews at Carriageworks in Sydney. Under the direction of multi-award-winning theatremaker Dino Dimitriadis, the program brings together work from across Australia and beyond, as well as workshops and panels dedicated entirely to the voices and visions of trans and gender diverse artists.
We’re particularly keen on the Down Under debut of Burgerz (pictured above), written and performed by Travis Alabanza (Overflow), as well as staged readings of new work including Gull by Glace Chase (Triple X) and Hermaphroditus from Zoe Terakes (Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers).
21-31 January, various sessions. Malthouse Theatre. Further info and tickets here.
Sugar
Following its international debut at Edinburgh Fringe earlier this year, this outrageous, silly and sexy solo cabaret show returns to Melbourne for a Midsumma season at Arts Centre Melbourne. Multidisciplinary artist Tomáš Kantor stars as Sugar, a gender-fluid twink who makes the transformative discovery that there’s money to be made from ‘transactional relationships’.
Along the way, the audience is treated to renditions of iconic pop songs from the likes of Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, Lorde, Sugababes and Kylie Minogue.
13-25 January. The Show Room, Arts Centre Melbourne. Further info and tickets here.
Skin (aka The Tattoo Show)
Billed as provocative and intensely physical, Skin is an ambitious art project in two parts, involving an exhibition as well as a live performance which sees performer and former ArtsHub contributor Jessi Ryan (QRAVE) tattooed live on stage (wearing eight-inch pleasers, backed by a soundtrack brimming with ‘music to sweat to’). In Ryan’s second major solo ‘dual outcome project’ in as many years, their body will be permanently inked with a series of two word responses ‘donated’ by the diverse LGBTQIA+ community members who are featured in the project’s exhibition component.
Skin: The Performance – 6 February, 8pm. @14 Gallery, Collingwood. Further info here.
Skin: The Exhibition – 6-8 February, from 12pm. @14 Gallery, Collingwood. Further info here.
Australian Open
Slicing through the heat of Melbourne’s tennis-mania and Midsumma’s queer chaos, Theatre Works serves up this this wickedly funny new play about elite tennis, family, and open relationships. Served up by playwright Angus Cameron (Dirt, Cavemen) and director Riley Spadaro, love lives, egos and reputations are all on the line in this heated courtside comedy.
21-31 January. Theatre Works, St Kilda. Further info and tickets here.
Skank Sinatra: The Name on Everybody’s Lips
Broadway’s greatest hits explode in a high-camp spectacular as award-winning cabaret drag diva Skank Sinatra shimmies into the spotlight with powerhouse vocals, biting comedy, and lashings of showgirl charm. With cheeky twists on songs from your favourite shows (think Hamilton to The Sound of Music and everything in between), this hour-long show promises razzle-dazzle, satire sharper than a Patti LuPone glare, and vocals strong enough to bring down the Phantom’s chandelier.
February 6-7, 8pm. Chapel off Chapel, Prahran. Further info and tickets here.
I’m only dating these men because my uncle bequeathed me money and I need to get married by the end of the year
This heartfelt new two-man musical comedy follows one man’s race to find true love – or at least, a legal spouse – before his eccentric criminal uncle ruins his life. Set firmly within contemporary gay and queer culture, the show plays with the absurdities of dating apps. Each date explodes into a song – glittery pop, chaotic ballads, and shameless musical theatre – as Larry stumbles through gay clichés, red flags and the occasional existential crisis.
19-23 January, 7pm. Theatre Works: Explosives Factory, St Kilda. Further info and tickets here.
Much to do with Law, but more to do with Love
In his award-winning lecture-performance, Danish Sheikh returns to the courtroom that broke his heart, and the play that healed it. Winner of the Queer Playwriting Award 2025, this charming and provocative show presented by Gasworks with Midsumma tells the story of a queer lawyer’s fight to decriminalise homosexuality in India, and asks the question: what’s the point of loving the law when the law won’t love you back?
4-7 February, 7pm. Gasworks Arts Park, Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park. Further info and tickets here.
Afterglow
When Josh and Alex, a married couple in an open relationship, invite Darius to share their bed for a night, a new and intimate connection is ignited…
Making its Australian premiere with Midsumma, this popular play from writer-director S. Asher Gelman promises a raw, funny and sensual exploration of desire, polyamory, commitment, and modern love. The cast of three comprises Julian Curtis (Gaslight, Cock, Dance Academy), gold medal winning Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham (Strangers in Between, Jock Night, The Pool) and Matthew Predny (Titanique, Avenue Q, Kinky Boots).
31 January – 8 February, various times. Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran. Further info and tickets here.
That’s The Way The Mop Flaps
Following three sold out seasons of her hit show Big Dyke Energy (Melbourne Fringe, MICF, QTOPIA 2024) Hannah Malarski (the ‘third most well known lesbian comedian named Hannah from Tasmania’) is back with a fresh hour of sapphic sketch, original musical comedy, and razor-sharp satire.
31 January-1 February, 6.30pm/6pm. Club Voltaire, North Melbourne. Further info and tickets here.
Thalia Joan Presents – How Was Last Night?
In this brand new hour of stand-up from the award-nominated artist described by critics as the ‘queen of the high-functioning unhinged’ and ‘an artiste in oversharing’, Thalia Joan has dug deep and decided that it’s time to bare all about the quintessential years that shaped her.
How was last night? delves into the mysterious and chaotic Sydney nightlife of yesteryear. The nights before iPhones put a time stamp on every single moment. The nights where friends split up, but oddly became closer. All would be revealed the next day over a simple question: ‘So… how was last night?’.
21-24 January, various times. Grouse Melbourne, Fitzroy. Further info and tickets here.
Party, Play & Connect at Midsumma
Library Up Late x Creative Acts
Party late into the night as the State Library Victoria transforms into an after-dark playground filled with queer creativity, music and magic. Gain exclusive after-hours access to the new exhibition, Creative Acts, and dance under the iconic Dome with legendary electro-pop duo Stereogamous (Paul Mac and Jonny Seymour). You can also expect electrifying cabaret performances curated by drag artist Jandruze, featuring performances by Aysha Buffet, Bendy Ben, Craig Crystie, Hannie Helsden, The Huxleys, Kitty Obsidian, Lazy Susan, Milo Hartill, Simone Page Jones, Stone Motherless Cold and Winter Greene.
5 February, 7.30pm-10.30pm. State Library Victoria. Further info and tickets here.
NGV Friday Nights – Midsumma
For one night only, Midsumma curates the line-up for NGV Friday Nights during the Westwood | Kawakubo exhibition season. The evening features DJ ENN performing in the Great Hall, and roving performances by award-winning performance artist Bendy Ben on the ground floor of the NGV. Tickets include exhibition entry and live entertainment, with food and drinks available for purchase. (Want to explore more queer art? The NGV is partnering with Midsumma to present a series of programs that celebrate queer histories, futures and creativity – including free talks Babies and Barking Dogs: Keith Haring & Melbourne.)
30 January, 6pm-10pm. NGV International. Further info and tickets here.
MQFF Presents: Midsumma Movies
Melbourne Queer Film Festival brings your queer cult cinema fix to Midsumma with a curated selection that’s all killer, no filler. Get ready for a hot summer weekend of queer cinema with back-to-back screenings at the iconic Cinema Nova. Pick and choose from eight features packed with cult characters, stories, music, icons, and queer-coded classics from the cult vault.
Headlining the program is the world premiere of Australian filmmaker James Demitri’s vampire narrative Drax, alongside the lesbian arthouse conjuring tale Camp by Avalon Fast. Hot tip: if you missed Fucktoys at MQFF, this is your chance to experience a future cult classic in the making.
31 January to 1 February, various times. Cinema Nova, Carlton. Further info & tickets here.
