Queensland Theatre Company Season 2026

Queensland Theatre Company’s (QTC) Season 2026 is a season of landmark collaborations, world premiere works, reimagined classics, fresh voices and trailblazing pioneers – a season that is All Feeling. No Filter.

Season 2026 marks the inaugural season programmed by QTC’s new Artistic Director, Daniel Evans (pictured above).

“Season 2026 invites you to sit in your ‘big feelings’, not only to entertain and inspire, but hold you as you experience the full gamut of human emotion,” says Evans.

“This is a season that takes bold risks – we’re reimagining classics, setting the agenda with unmissable premieres and collaborating on ambitious and heart-thumping productions.

“In 2026, we are presenting deeply human works, with storytelling that reminds us why we gather; to feel something expansive, to hold space for wonder and to see the world in a new light. It’s theatre where the collective breath catches, where hearts cracks open, and where we come together to feel together.

“I am deeply proud to present my first season as Artistic Director, with a season that’s conceived as a declaration and oRered a gift. Featuring large casts and top-tier theatre makers, every work is programmed as an event in its own right. The kind of productions where you have to be there, the kind that remind us why theatre matters – nights that crackle, spark conversation, and stay with you long after the lights go down.

“I grew up and started my career in Queensland – this place is my home, and Queensland audiences are my muse. Charting eight new journeys for this state to share is a privilege.

“Theatre reminds us that feeling deeply is an act of courage, and that gathering in a room to feel something together matters, now more than ever.”

Queensland Theatre Company Chief Executive Criena Gehrke said:

“Season 2026 exemplifies what makes Queensland Theatre Company unique: a place where world-class performances meet a distinctly Queensland spirit.

“We have the incredible privilege and pleasure to amplify voices that span generations and cultures, to welcome seasoned performers and emerging artists, and to tap into the creative minds who work behind the scenes to bring magic to our stages.

“This season is daring and dazzling, it is grounded in humanity and diversity to present a true reflection of the community we serve.

“We are also delighted to offer audiences a season of landmark collaborations that celebrate the depth of talent across Queensland.

“From an innovative and audio-immersive production with Counterpilot and a lavishly reimagined classic with Shake & Stir Theatre Company to a powerful premiere presentation with Brisbane Festival and an epic musical with Opera Queensland and Queensland Symphony Orchestra, this is a celebration of local talent that sets a new benchmark of scale.”

The season features eight mainstage productions: four staged at QTC’s Bille Brown Theatre, three at QPAC’s Playhouse, one at Toowoomba’s The Empire Theatre and one at QPAC’s brand-new Glasshouse Theatre.

Coinciding with the Season 2026 launch, the state’s leading arts organisation reaffirms itself as Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) to reflect the collaborative community of artists, theatre makers and supporters who contribute to the company.

2026 MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS

THE GREAT GATSBY

5 – 6 February | The Empire Theatre, Toowoomba 12 February – 8 March | Playhouse, QPAC

Season 2026 begins with an opulent reimagining of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic Jazz Age novel, The Great Gatsby, brought to the stage in partnership with Shake & Stir Theatre Company. This fever dream of excess, escape and aspiration makes its debut at Toowoomba’s historic The Empire Theatre.

TORCH THE PLACE

10 – 29 March | Bille Brown Theatre

Torch the Place is the debut play from Queensland-raised writer Benjamin Law, which unpacks the chaos of family, identity and intergenerational trauma. The moving comedy dissects the tension between letting go of the past and holding on to what’s dear.

THE SAPPHIRES

28 April – 24 May | Bille Brown Theatre

Immortalised on film, the real-life story of four Yorta Yorta women who sang for troops during the Vietnam War returns to the stage in a new production of The Sapphires. Former QTC Artistic Director Wesley Enoch returns to direct the musical, which features a talented cast of First Nations artists.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

10 – 26 July | Playhouse, QPAC

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a person not in possession of a ticket to 2025’s sold-out Pride & Prejudice, must be in want of an encore season. The colourful, contemporary take on Jane Austen’s timeless Regency rom-com returns for another turn about the room.

DO NOT GO GENTLE

11 – 30 August | Bille Brown Theatre

A star-studded cast of Australian theatre veterans rally and rage against silence, diminishing spirits and the slow fade of age in Patricia Cornelius’s Do Not Go Gentle. The Bille Brown Theatre stage transforms into the icy expanse of Antarctica in the haunting, unflinching and ultimately heartening metaphor for old age.

STRONG IS THE NEW PRETTY

1 –19 September | Playhouse, QPAC

The spotlight shines on the quiet power of determined women in Strong is the New Pretty, the untold story of the behind-the-scenes fight that willed the AFLW competition into existence. The world premiere play by Australian playwright Suzie Miller (Prima Facie) makes its anticipated debut in partnership with Brisbane Festival, Sydney Theatre Company and Trish Wadley Productions.

SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS

13 October – 1 November | Bille Brown Theatre

Embark on a silent retreat with a wayward bunch of misfits in the groundbreaking Small Mouth Sounds. Even without a word being uttered, the audience can tune into the reactions behind the actions, with headphones relaying an audio-immersive symphony of sound effects engineered by the cutting-edge Queensland collective, Counterpilot.

INTO THE WOODS

11 – 21 November | Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC

Season 2026 ends in a fitting crescendo, bringing together Queensland Theatre Company, Opera Queensland and Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods at QPAC’s brand-new Glasshouse Theatre. Forget the fairy tales you think you know; this soaring musical presents a complex and compelling examination of longing, wishes, desire and what really happens after “happily ever after”.

https://queenslandtheatre.com.au/

2026 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Alongside its mainstage program, Queensland Theatre Company amplifies emerging voices, supports untold stories and engages new audiences across the state in 2026.

First Nations Theatre Unit

QTC’s First Nations Theatre hub in Gimuy (Cairns) continues to develop new works that reflect the unique region. Two important pieces of storytelling are being developed in 2026 under the guidance of QTC’s Head of First Nations Theatre, Isaac Drandić:

• Forgotten Songlines is an ambitious new work that blends traditional song, dance, and language with symphonic sound.
• Biw a Githalay (The Crab and The Mangrove Tree) is a powerful children’s work grounded in Saibai Island storytelling, created in collaboration with Elders, mothers and grandmothers.

Additionally, following its successful 2025 Brisbane season, Dear Son will tour to Belvoir St Theatre for Sydney Festival in 2026.

“First Nations people have shared their stories through song, dance and cultural exchange for generations,” says Isaac Drandić.

“In bringing our stories to the stage, we continue to communicate our ideas, share our knowledge with a wider audience and shine a spotlight on the narratives and issues that are truly important.

“Queensland’s First Nations stories are embedded in culture. Our responsibility is to keep them alive and share them with new generations and wider audiences.

“QTC’s First Nations Theatre Unit reflects the lands and cultures of this state. Every new work it develops is shaped by the people who live it and hold the knowledge.”

Isaac is a Noongar man from the southwest of Western Australia.

Education & Young People

QTC continues its 56-year history of nurturing the next generation of actors, artists, theatre makers and audiences by programming a year-round calendar of opportunities.

QTC expands its Young Company initiative to include students interested in technical and production skills, culminating in a production of Matthew Whittet’s School Dance, which will be performed, produced, and directed by the Young Company.

Theatre Residency Week, one of QTC’s longest-running programs, assembles 100 teenagers in a week-long bootcamp. Mini Masterclasses enhance theatre-making skills, while The Write Club oRers the chance to draft and craft a new play.

Regional Engagement

QTC begins the year in Toowoomba with special performances of The Great Gatsby at The Empire Theatre, while The Scene Project offers high-calibre artistic mentorship directly to students across 30 venues.

Following a sellout season in 2025, Calamity Jane hits the road for a Queensland-wide regional tour.

Artistic Development

DOOR 3 returns in 2026, supporting three Queensland-based theatre collectives to each stage a season of independent theatre work in the Diane Cilento Studio.

QTC is proud to continue to support the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award and allow a playwright, theatre maker, collective or company to create a new work. The continued support of Griffith University in contributing the $30,000 prize makes it one of the most prestigious awards in the country.

QTC Season Ticket packages are on sale Wednesday 8 October 2025, with tickets to 3 play packages and individual performances on sale Monday 13 October 2025.

Season Ticket packages start at just three plays, with eight-play packages rewarding theatregoers with savings of up to 20 per cent.

https://queenslandtheatre.com.au/