Reuben Kaye Named Artistic Director of Adelaide Cabaret Festival

In an interview with ABC Australia, Reuben Kaye discussed his new role as artistic director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, his comedic philosophy, and the personal costs of a career in the arts. Kaye, who is 40 and openly queer, reflected on growing up without visible older gay role models due to the AIDS crisis, and on now serving as a kind of elder figure to younger queer artists — a role he accepts with pride despite initial resistance. He described cabaret as an inherently political and punk art form that thrives during periods of social upheaval, and said his programming aims to attract both established festival audiences and younger newcomers. On the question of controversial comedy, Kaye maintained that any subject can be addressed on stage, insisting the issue is always one of execution rather than topic. He also addressed the threat of AI to the arts broadly, arguing that while cabaret itself is adaptable, a collapse of the wider artistic ecosystem would inevitably harm it too. His show, The Kaye Hole, is scheduled for June 20 at the Adelaide Festival Centre as part of the festival, which runs until June 21.