Malthouse Theatre 2026 Season Launch

By Jennifer Beasley

It’s bold, it’s delicious, it’s Malthouse Theatre’s 2026 Season Launch!

There’s nothing better than going to a theatrical season launch, and Malthouse blazes away with nine, I repeat, NINE stellar productions for 2026. That’s two up on the 2025 season and I can see why they had pyrotechnics firing away. This season will really blast you away. It is also a celebration of 50 years of Malthouse!

After a terrific Welcome to Country by the ever-genial Uncle John ‘Dunno’ Terrick, and a quick intro by Chair Jaccob Varghese, the new Artistic Director and Co-CEO Dean Bryant stepped on stage. Oft cited as this country’s greatest director (no argument here), it’s expected that Bryant will bring his renown electrifying and studied approach to facilitate the evolution of the magnificent Malthouse Theatre.

The year ahead has a lineup of nine thought provoking shows; Blacklight, Game.Set.Match, Pride & Prejudice, House of Rot. Grey Gardens, Stephanie Lake Company: Vista, Break of Day, The Nightlife, Koreaboo and All About Eve. With a loose core theme centring on Hope, as highlighted by Executive Producer and Co-CEO Vivia Hickman, all these productions promise to uplift, entertain, and in typical Malthouse fashion, give you pause to think.

As Hickman states, commenting on these contemporary works that span drama, comedy, adaptations, dance and cabaret, “each piece invites us to listen more deeply, to see more clearly, and to imagine more boldly what our shared future might hold.”

To further entice the public, Malthouse once again is offering a special 25% off on Season tickets until October 31^st this year.

Now, let’s look in depth at this lineup.

Blacklight. 13^th February – 7^th March. Commissioned by Malthouse. Written and directed by Larrakia, Yanyuwa, and Bardi woman Jada Alberts, who has won a slew of awards, as well as acted and scripted a few episodes on the TV series Mystery Road (2018), is a story focused on four indigenous women as they wait out ominous events outside their home; military planes flying overhead, fuel and water lacking in the small town. No one knows what is going on in this alternative reality (or possible future?) on Australian soil. With Elder Nan suffering dementia, the youngest daughter Bud (Tahlee Fereday) recently separated from their wife and struggling to parent alone, and the two warring sisters, Aunty and Mum, makes up a tight knit cast of indigenous women. This exploration of intergenerational women surviving in a colonial world asks the ‘What If?’ scenario, amidst family dynamics and trauma, layered with the power of Country. Two powerhouse actors and sisters, Rachael and Lisa Maza, lend their considerable acting talents as Aunty and Mum to this production, giving their own insightful views in an onstage interview that drives home the compelling nature of this play.

Game. Set. Match. 1^st May – 23^rd May. Written and preformed by award winning playwright and comic Megan Wilding, who is also a proud Gamilaroi woman, this rom-com features Tennis (check), strawberries (check again) and-blood? Step into this Will They, Won’t They play as Wilding plays Ray, with a bit of an axe to grind against Joshua, having met him after cleaning up after his mother’s funeral. A Joshua, it appears, who has turned up late! With a background of a tennis game playing on the radio, and then, later at the local watching the Australian Open semi-finals, the pair volley and serve their own game. Uncovering secrets, discovering true colours, and a side serve of revenge. Directed by Jessica Arthur, who is also the New Work Associate -Artist Development at Malthouse.

Pride & Prejudice. 15^th May – 23^rd May. Adapted from Jane Austin and a Bloomshed Production (Animal Farm) who have cast their (very) creative eye on this well-loved rom com and mix it up with the housing crisis. Very current! With the Bennet family hanging on, as Mr Bennet becomes a potted monstera, it is up to Mrs Bennet to navigate strategic unions with her five non-strategic daughters. This has already been touring to sold out shows and promises to upend high society with Bloomshed’s trademark satire.  A slick, fast and funny production is promised.

Premier – House of Rot: Grey Gardens. 18^th -20^th June. Created by Dino Dimitriadis and Victoria Falconer and featuring Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello. A cabaret act very loosely based on two eccentrics, Big and Little Eddie, as they reside in Grey Gardens, a house falling within itself. Noviello gave an outstanding medley of songs at the launch starting with a soulful Summertime and ending with Sia’s Alive. And rocking the best red dress I’ve ever seen too. Magnificent and Noviello has a beautiful range. This will be a performance that will reach down into your heart.

Stephanie Lake Company: Vista. 22 July – 1^st August. Choreographed by the innovative Stephanie Lake, this dance production is split into two halves. The first, in monochrome, explores one view of reality. The second act explodes into a vibrant colour fest, a lens that reframes our perception. With music by Robin Fox and ALPHA60, this will be a joyous collision of duality.

Premier – Break of Day. 7^th – 29^th August. Written by Steve Rodgers. This play won the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award and the Australian Writers Guild Prize for Playwriting. So, you know this is going to be good. Directed by superstar Sarah Goodes and starring equally fantastic Kat Stewart as Pam, this gritty play investigates Australia’s own cringy acknowledgement of class. As Stewart said while being interviewed by Hickman, can determination prevent the past? The character Pam has had a baby at 17, and now, working the night shift in a small town, she will do anything she can to give her daughter, now also 17, a better life. A reflection of what any parent ever hopes for.

The Nightline. 13^th – 29^th August. Created by Rosyln Oades and Bob Scott. This is an audio performance, where The Bagging room is transformed into a live performance as you choose who to listen to – the lonely, the happy, the many voices that operate during those dark hours. With an invitation to collaborate anonymously, you too can call The Nightline between 12 pm and 6am on 0456 151 783 and share your hopes and fears.

Koreaboo. 24^th September – 10^th October. Written and performed by Michelle Lim Davison and directed by Jessica Arthur. This is the debut play by Davidson that takes us on a journey from Australia to a Korean Convenience Shop as an adopted woman searches for meaning and connection, traversing language barriers and food and finding ultimate connection with her Korean grandmother through their love of K-Pop. This has been originally produced by Griffin Theatre so this will be a joy to see at Malthouse.

And finally, a show for the new Artistic Director Dean Bryant to really sink his teeth into!

All About Eve. 20^th November – 12 December. Written by the ultra-talented Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and adapted by Ivo Van Hove, this classic, that won 6 Oscars and cemented Bette Davis as THE actress, delves into identity, ambition and betrayal as the ingénue undermines the aging star. Casting Christie Whelan Browne as both the ingenue Eve and Margo the aging star will push this play to it’s theatrical limits, promising an outstanding performance from Browne.

It’s also good to see Malthouse’s educational series continuing for teenagers (year 9 and 10 students) with The Suitcase Series. The theme for the new season will be climate change seen through the lens of intergenerational hope. Rituals, Rituals, Rituals, 19^th -31^st October written by Ray Perks this is the newest educational piece commissioned.

Malthouse would not be the same without the Malthouse Comedy Festival 26^th March – 19^th April and I had a brilliant time last march with this event. Attracting over 23,000 patrons, it promises to be bigger and better than ever.  As well, Malthouse is hosting the inaugural Trans Theatre Festival 19^th – 31^st January, giving voice to all things Trans. This will truly be innovative theatre.

We also can’t forget that three of Malthouse’s productions will be touring next year.  The Birds starring the fantastic Paula Arundell (she’s an outstanding performer) at Belvoir 14^th  May–14^th  June, Wake in Fright starring Zahra Newman, presented by Griffin Theatre Company at Belvoir as well from the 17^th  June–5^th  July, and Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes at Black Swan State Theatre Company in Perth from the 26^th  February–1^st  March after its final performance at Malthouse this December (don’t forget to get tickets to see this before it goes!)

Tickets on sale now malthousetheatre.com.au, with a special 25% offer on Season tickets until October 31st.