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.

2026 marks the first year that Brown’s Mart has been led by two CEOs – Yvette as Artistic Director and Liz Rogers Co-CEO and General Manager.

“It’s an honour to step into this role as the first First Nations Artistic Director in Brown’s Mart’s 53-year history”, Yvette says. “For my inaugural program, I’ve centred a mainstage program of female playwrights telling stories of past, present, and future. First Nations voices and the critical development of our local artists is empowered. I believe some of the very best talent, and most dynamic and rich stories in Australian theatre, are right here in the Northern Territory. My hope is that this season reflects the strength of our community and the courage it takes to imagine something new.”

Liz adds, “I want Brown’s Mart to be a place where everyone feels they belong, whether you’ve been coming for years or you’re walking in for the first time. This year, we’re nurturing our community, whilst expanding our partnerships across borders, and bringing new collaborators and fresh perspectives into the fold. We’ve worked to build a program that’s collaborative, exciting, and honours the past whilst stepping into the future. I look forward to seeing you all in our beautiful and iconic venue.”

The mainstage 2026 program includes:

Genius. Image: Mimi Tannaka.

‘Genius’ by Sandra Thibodeaux, and directed by Nicky Fearn
3–14 March 2026, Brown’s Mart Theatre, Darwin

Enter the world of renowned Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–c.1653) as retold by street-smart, paint-splattered rising graffiti star, Miss Ella from today (2026). Artemisia, renowned for her skilful, vivid depictions of powerful, female figures, pushed boundaries, carving her own path that earned a reputation that has endured for centuries. No matter what you might have previously heard, this is the true and verified account of her life and work … as told to Miss Ella by her best friend … who learnt it from her cousin, servant of the Spanish ambassador, who heard it directly from Artemisia’s pigment seller’s wife, and well, that’s practically from the horse’s mouth!

A JUTE Theatre Company, Sandra Thibodeaux, and Simona Cosentini Co-Production, presented by Brown’s Mart.

You can read Geoffrey Williams’ review of Sandra Thibodeaux’s ‘Calls to 1194’ for the 2021 Darwin Fringe Festival here: https://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/calls-1194

The Present. Image: Dan Grant.

‘The Present’ by Jeffrey Jay Fowler and Sarah Reuben
9–20 June, Brown’s Mart Theatre, Darwin

From the creators of ‘I’ll Tell You In Person’ and ‘The Hypotheticals’, The Present unwraps a family’s history and their obsession with presents. You’ll meet half twins with different fathers; mother and son with unresolvable trust issues; a man with a rare gene that makes him extra tasty to sharks, and his long lost daughter who loves the beach. The piece breeds dark humour with big heart to explore how every family creates its own mythology and then suffers from it. In the week leading up to Christmas, the twins’ search for one genuinely meaningful gift exposes longings, resentments, and the question of what traditions might best be left behind.

Co-produced by Brown’s Mart and The Last Great Hunt.

You can read Geoffrey Williams’ review of the 2021 Darwin Festival season of The Hypotheticals here: https://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/hypotheticals

Seven Deadly Gins. Image supplied.

‘Seven Deadly Gins’ by Yvette Walker, and directed by Shari Sebbens
World Premiere, 6–17 October, Brown’s Mart Theatre, Darwin

‘We walked through the belly of the storm, you clutching your basket to your side, one step in front of another step in front of another step. Through the intestines, step, step, step and out through its bowels.’

The first runner-up for the New Australian Play Award at the 2021 Australian Theatre Festival in New York, Seven Deadly Gins is the story of Magenta’s trip back home to the Gulf, which summons all of her demons to congregate in one place where she is forced to confront what has been buried for so long. It’s time for her to move forward. But her past has different ideas; is she strong enough to handle the truth? Yvette dedicates her play to First Nations, and all, women and girls. Those in pain, those broken, those healing, those whole, those fighting, those survived, those triumphant, those leading. All who deserve a life without violence.

Whistling Kite. Image supplied.

Whistling Kite New Music will present two diverse and compelling contemporary chamber music performances, curated by Whistling Kite New Music Artistic Director Nick Yates.

‘Over There’, Sunday 1 November at 5pm features original music, movement and visual works created by five artists at Harrigans Lane CoLab artist-in-residency on West Bundjalung and Gidabal (Githabul) country. Six short films capture these site-specific performances responding to Vicki Kalleher’s poem. This performance features new works written and performed by Vanessa Tomlinson, Netanela Mizrahi and musicians of Whistling Kite New Music.

‘Stories of Water and Earth’, Friday 13 November at 7.30pm is a collaboration between Djapu poet and performer Melanie Mununggurr and composer Netanela Mizrahi, blending music and oral storytelling to explore connection to Country, ancestry and renewal. Featuring Mununggurr, Mizrahi and musicians of Whistling Kite New Music in its second ever Northern Territory performance.

David Spry. Image supplied.

This year, Brown’s Mart is handing the keys to the courtyard to one of Darwin’s brightest music visionaries – David Spry. Live on Fridays is a Friday afternoon series where audiences will experience Spry’s new music, alongside a lineup of local talent that celebrates First Nations voices, spotlights some established legends, and throws in a few surprises along the way. Come for the music, stay for the atmosphere, and discover the sound of the Top End like you’ve never heard it before. Live on Fridays, from 5–7pm in Brown's Mart Courtyard, is free to attend.

Tickets for the Brown’s Mart 2026 Season are now on sale: https://brownsmart.com.au/2026-program/