News

Musicals in 2025

Image: Michael Paynter and Ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar. Photographer: Jeff Busby

A swag of hit Broadway and West End musicals never before seen in Australia will wend their way around the country in 2025, alongside some old favourites to tap the nostalgia buttons.

The post Covid era, along with high interest rates, combined to encourage conservative choices by musical theatre producers. The year ahead is the most innovative in a long time.

 

Matildas Moving House

Kitty Goodall Reports

Queensland theatre industry’s night of nights, The Matilda Awards is preparing for a significant evolution as it moves to QPAC for the 38th annual ceremony on 2 March 2026. The Matildas have always reflected the pulse of Queensland’s live entertainment sector, but this new chapter brings a scale and visibility that better matches the future of the industry.

Red Stitch Celebrates 25 Years with 2026 Season

Image: Kid Stakes - The Doll Trilogy.

Melbourne’s Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre has unveiled its 2026 season, marking the company’s 25th anniversary with a program that reflects its legacy of risk-taking, excellence and artist-led storytelling.

Anchored by a landmark revival of Ray Lawler’s The Doll Trilogy, the season also features new international works, and a world premiere as part of Red Stitch’s INK program, which champions original Australian writing.

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

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 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.