QPAC

You only fall like this once.

Eight Tony Awards. Every note played live, in the intimacy of QPAC’s Cremorne Theatre. 

Based on the much-loved film and winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Once is the only show whose music has won an Academy Award, a Grammy, an Olivier and a Tony. It features the songs from the film, written by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, including the Oscar-winning “Falling Slowly”, with every note played live on stage by a cast of 12 actor-musicians.

On the bustling streets of Dublin, an Irish busker ready to give up on music meets a young Czech mother who plays piano and has no patience for wasted talent. Over one fateful week, their songwriting sparks an unlikely friendship, and then a tender, complicated romance that neither of them saw coming – told through songs that say what they can’t.

Once is a celebration of love, friendship and connection through music, that will resonate with audiences long after the final note. 

Don’t miss the Brisbane premiere of this heartfelt musical, brought to QPAC by the creative team behind 2026’s smash-hit sellout season of Little Shop of Horrors. Set in the intimacy of QPAC’s Cremorne Theatre, you are close enough to hear fingers on the strings and the breath before the first line.