News

The 2025 Matilda Awards

Playhouse Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). 2 March 2026

This year’s 2025 Matilda Awards were so tremendous, it took two Stage Whispers writers – Kitty Goodall and Beth Keehn (pictured below) – to cover the action! This was a celebration of Queensland theatre excellence from a packed 2025 season, covering independent theatre makers and mainstage productions from across the state, with 20 trophies awarded – from Best Set Design to the Gold Matilda.

Reg Livermore’s Ned Kelly: The Musical Gets a Victorian Goldfields Revival

Victorian Opera announces the cast for its upcoming revival of Reg Livermore’s Ned Kelly: The Musical. Following its original seasons in Adelaide and Sydney in the late 1970s, this landmark musical returns to the stage for the first time in 48 years. Audiences can experience this exclusive, limited-run season across two performances only at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat, on Saturday 28 March.

Caroline O’Connor Melbourne-only Concerts Encore! Songs from the Musicals

Caroline O’Connor will perform in three Melbourne-only concerts Encore! Songs from the Musicals singing show-stopping hits, alongside a cast of Australian star performers and backed by Orchestra Victoria, at the Regent Theatre from 28-30 May.

Hair Returns to Sydney

Following its Melbourne season, the new production of HAIR will open at Theatre Royal Sydney from 6 June 2026. The Grammy and Tony Award‑winning American tribal love‑rock musical, which first played in Sydney in 1969, returns to the city with its story of peace, freedom and rebellion for a new generation of audiences.

Mrs. Doubtfire Musical For Australia

Mrs. Doubtfire, the comedy musical based on the film will premiere in Australia at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from November 2026.

Featuring all the moments you know and love, plus new songs and dance numbers, Mrs. Doubtfire is directed by four-time Tony Award winning Jerry Zaks. 

Directing ART

Kitty Goodall chats with Lee Lewis about directing ART, which is touring Australi

Australian Musical Theatre Festival 2026

Artistic teams, new shows and new stars announced for Australian Musical Theatre Festival, Launceston, Tasmania.

Artistic Director Tyran Parke has announced the artistic teams behind two major musical works to be presented at the Australian Musical Theatre Festival to be held in Launceston, Tasmania from 20 to 24 May 2026, revealing a program that brings together Australia’s most celebrated performers with outstanding local and emerging talent.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical Returns In 2027

Global Creatures announced that Moulin Rouge! The Musical will open at the Sydney Lyric in March 2027, with an all-new Australian cast, delivering the same internationally acclaimed spectacle fans know and love.

In 2025, seven productions of the hit show lit up stages across the globe. To date, over 12 million theatregoers worldwide have experienced the spectacular, and the original Broadway soundtrack has had 169 million streams on Spotify and leading music streamers.

Cast of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical Announced

Producers Paul Dainty and TEG Dainty, Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio have announced the Australian cast of the musical A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL, which makes its Australian premiere exclusively in Melbourne in August 2026 at the Princess Theatre, with previews commencing on Wednesday 5 August.

Waitress Cast

Producer John Frost for Crossroads Live has announced the cast for the Australian Premiere of Broadway’s WAITRESS, at Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne from 1 May, and the Sydney Lyric Theatre from 1 August. 

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