“It’s always been my philosophy that one of the worst things an organisation can do when faced with those kinds of challenges is to retreat...”

By David Berthold’s own admission, he burst onto La Boite Theatre Company’s stage with a “ridiculously large” season filled with “some very high ambition”.

His signature boldness and inclination to go big is an attitude he has applied to Brisbane Festival, the nation’s largest major international arts festival. On the eve of opening his fifth and final Brisbane Festival, the outgoing – but sometimes shy – Artistic Director takes IMHO on a trip down memory lane as he ruminates on his 11-year residency in the city.

“People were expecting a diminished level of work. The opposite happened.”

In this podcast, Berthold reveals the challenges he faced steering a theatre company in dire financial straits and how Hamlet proved the unlikeliest of saviours.

The arts and cultural leader is frank in his assessment of Queensland’s arts sector and predicts the trends and issues that will shape and decide the fate of the industry.

“That has to change, otherwise our arts and cultural scene risks not delivering what it needs to do in a city that’s rapidly transforming.”

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GUEST: David Berthold, Brisbane Festival Artistic Director

HOST: Adam Brunes