There is so much new, exciting, innovative and experimental theatre being created locally and around the world and the Brisbane Powerhouse want to bring it to you. The inaugural WTF program defies traditional theatre conventions with works that demand audience engagement. Check out productions from Ireland, the UK and Australia as well as intriguing installations and artist-run workshops. Zohar Spatz, a producer for WTF 2013, shares the must-see picks.

Q: Describe WTF in 5 words?
Come down and find out.

Q: What is it all about and how did it start?
WTF is about building audiences for performance in Brisbane by exposing artists and audiences to a broad range of experiences. The festival pushes new technologies, new forms, and participatory theatre.

Q: What is your role in WTF?
My role is as the producer of WTF which is a curated program with a team of Brisbane Powerhouse programmers behind it.

Q: Highlights of the festival include...?
Don’t miss Gob Squad’s 'Kitchen'! Four performers attempt to reconstruct Andy Warhol's films 'Kitchen', 'Sleep' and 'Screen Test'. During the show, members of the audience are recruited one by one to replace the performers while they receive text and stage directions via headphones. By the end of the show all four performers have been replaced.

Q: Which show is absolutely unmissable and why?
'Parah' is a Malaysian play written by Singaporean Alfian Sa'at, it reflects on current day Malaysia and circles around four friends still at high school. I think people will be surprised at how similar Malaysia and Australia are.

Q: What makes a great piece of theatre?
A great piece of theatre is provocative in form and content, it should aim to push beyond the ordinary realms of theatre performance – it should be a totally new experience, one that keeps you talking well after the curtain has gone down

Q: How important is theatre to our society?
Incredibly important. It’s a form of storytelling — it should be a reflection of our world, past, present and future. It should be a platform to share our stories and be heard.

Q: How different is theatre around the globe?
Are you personally able to tell where a show has been made/ what country it was created in? (beyond the obvious of surtitles!). Every person has their own aesthetic, theatre isn’t defined or categorised by which country it was made in but rather by the people who make it.

Q: Any funny/ weird/ crazy behind-the-scenes stories?
A rubber chicken, latex gloves and a unicycle… that’s all I am allowed to say.

Q: Anything else readers should know?
Come down to Brisbane Powerhouse. If you’re not a regular theatre-goer, you will be surprised at how much theatre can move past your preconceived ideas of what happens inside of our four walls.

World Theatre Festival 2013 is at the Brisbane Powerhouse until February 13.