News

A Purr-fect Return

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

Pride And Prejudice* (*sort of) Musical Comedy To Tour In 2026

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is heading Down Under. The 2026 Australian tour will play at Melbourne’s Atheneum Theatre from 18 June, Sydney Opera House from 16 July, IPAC Wollongong from 2 September, Canberra Theatre Centre from 16 September and QPAC, Brisbane from 30 September.

Perth Festival 2026

Image: East Perth Power Station. Image credit: Jessica Wyld Photography.

The Heartbreak Choir at Pymble Players

David Allsopp reports on a community theatre directing debut which promises a heart-warming finish.

With a career spent directing high school musicals and student HSC productions, it seems a little ridiculous that it took until 2026 for Heather Pitt to make her directing debut in community theatre with the Pymble Players production of The Heartbreak Choir by Aidan Fennessy.

2025 Sydney Theatre Awards Nominations

Image: The Edit. Photographer: Robert Catto.

Nominations were announced today (Dec 22, 2025) for the 2025 Sydney Theatre Awards, which will be presented at an industry gala ceremony on Monday 19 January 2026 at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre.

Leads Announced for The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour

Opera Australia has announced that Australian soprano Amy Manford has been cast as Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera when it returns for a limited season at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour from 27 March to 3 May next year.

Amy has attracted global recognition for her portrayal of The Phantom’s protégé, playing the role to critical acclaim in both the recent Australian in-theatre tour and the West End production in London.

 

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.

Saturday Night Fever Melbourne Cast

Ethan Churchill will lead the cast who bring the 1970s cult classic characters from Saturday Night Fever to life in this reimagined production at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre with performances starting on January 8th, 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.

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