News

Steel Magnolias Returns to Stages Across Australia

The story that made us laugh, cry, and fall in love with six extraordinary women is back — live on stage in a new Australian production. Written by Robert Harling, the timeless tale of Steel Magnolias will come alive under the direction of Lee Lewis and a cast of six powerhouse actors.

Steel Magnolias will tour to QPAC, Brisbane from April 2026, Theatre Royal Sydney in May 2026, Wollongong and Canberra in June 2026, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth in July 2026 and Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre from July 2026.

S,B &W Foundation Announces $250,000 in Performing Arts Grants & 2025 Winner Of $20,000 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award

As it approaches its 40th Anniversary year, the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, a charity established to assist the performing arts in Australia, announced substantial Grants for 2026 and a significant playwright’s award to a packed gathering of theatre practitioners and supporters at the S,B&W Foundation’s annual Christmas celebration, in the Seaborn Library at their Neutral Bay headquarters on Thursday evening, November 20, 2025.

A Trilogy That Matters To Us All

Image above: The Construct (2025) – Fig Kershaw – Photographer:  Nic Mollison

At professional Adelaide theatre company, No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability (No Strings), innate ability shines from every one of its productions as disabled performers reach for the stars. Former Stage Whispers SA Correspondent, Lesley Reed, now a Director on the No Strings Board, tells how the company will celebrate those fine performers in early December with an immersive film trilogy.

Brown’s Mart Launches 2026 Season

Brown's Mart Season 2026 Launch. Image: Geoffrey Williams.

Geoffrey Williams went along to the launch of Brown’s Mart’s 2026 Season launch.

A near capacity audience has enthusiastically responded to the Brown’s Mart 2026 Season launch, which includes a world premiere written by Brown’s Mart’s Artistic Director Yvette Walker, a new play by the celebrated Darwin playwright Sandra Thibodeaux, and a new play by Jeffrey Jay Fowler and Sarah Reuben.

Back to the Future Bombs

A national tour of Back to the Future the Musical has been cancelled and the season curtailed in Sydney after b

A Purr-fect Return

With CATS the Musical on the road in a national tour Coral Drouyn looks at the magic of both

La Boite Launches 2026 Season

La Boite Theatre turned 100 in 2025 and strides into its next century with a 2026 Season “grounded in big ideas and dreams, fuelled by fearlessness and filled with moments of profound beauty and understanding”.

A Ghostly Hat Trick

Coral Drouyn talks to multi award winning actor/writer/director Peter Houghton just before the World Premiere of Michael Ward’s new supernatural comedy.

Sydney Festival 2026

Image: Mama Does Derby

Sydney Festival marks its 50th anniversary in January 2026 with a diverse city-wide program that honours five decades of cultural transformation and looks ahead to the next generation of artistic innovation. From 8-25 January, Sydney becomes a playground of imagination, with theatre, dance, music, visual arts and immersive experiences taking over historic venues, pop-up spaces and unexpected corners of the city. 

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2026

Image: Mardi Gras Parade 2024. Photographer: Ann-marie Calilhanna.

The 48th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival invites everyone to step into ECSTATICA from 13 February to 1 March 2026, world where joy becomes movement, and celebration becomes power.

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