By Jennifer Beasley.
Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre rocks the stage at the MEMO MUSIC HALL to unveil its boldest vision in its 25-year history.
Let’s hear it for the quarter of a century of blood, sweat and plenty of timber as Red Stitch launches its 2026 season, accompanied by the marvellous jazz sounds of Michele Forbes Showband.
Appropriately located at the Memo Music Hall, at the Luna Park end of Ackland Street, MC Brett Cousins delivered a bold and inspiring trifecta of play types in a bespoke style that can only spell out the creative talent behind Red Stitch.
Covering Australian Works, New Works and International Works this must be the boldest outing of Red Stitch’s program ever.
Kicking off the year will be the best of Aussie playwright Ray Lawler’s work – The Doll Trilogy.
I’m sure everyone is familiar with Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, but preceding that seminal work is Kid Stakes, which introduces Roo, Barney, Olive and Nancy as youthful dreamers, and a Melbourne, in 1937, that still portrayed the innocence of country thought too far away to be influenced by the world. The second play, Other Times, revisits the characters again in 1945. The tone has shifted, the lives altered by a war-torn world, and shifting loyalties and beliefs challenged. The final instalment, Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, now spotlights the year 1953. Sixteen years have passed and so, to, has Nancy. Calton is forever changed and the Melbournians fear what will follow.
Not since 1985 has The Doll Trilogy been performed as a completed set. Director Ella Caldwell’s ambitious vision will focus once again on the greatness of this iconic and fabulous work, which at the time broke all convention, showing, for the first time, a very Australian story and the unique voices it brought to Melbourne and the celebration of our culture. Playing from 10th February to the 11th of April and featuring Caroline Lee OAM (The Newsready, Honour), Emily Goddard (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Clickbait), Khisraw Jones-Shukoor (The Comeuppance), with the fabulous Ngaire Dawn-Fair (The Flick) and Ben Prendergast (Wolf Man, God of War), with Damian Walshe-Howling (A View from the Bridge) and Lucinda Smith (Honour). Do not miss this!
Next up we have a slew of Premiers.
Anna X by Olivier recipient, Joseph Charlton, and directed by Tait De Lorenzo, this show inspired by Anna Delvey (on Netflix as Inventing Anna) and will be performed from 27th May to the 21st June.
This play promises to explore the kookiness and manipulation of Anna Delvey, as Sarah Sutherland (After Miss Julie), nailing the Russian/American accent in the preview snippet, and Darcy Kent (Baby Boy), this two-hander is going to sing on stage. Satirical and sharp, I can’t wait to see the rapier wit of the brilliant writing of Brit Joseph Charlton, who burst onto the scene with Anniversary and Brilliant Jerks. Under the directorship of De Lorenzo (The Picture of Dorian Gray) this will sizzle.
When you see as much theatre as I do, you do tend to get those actors that are your favourites. Aside from OAM Caroline Lee (loved that running OAM joke!), I can only say that Lucy Ancell continues to captivate me in everything she does. With film credits The Dry 2 and Strife and acting alongside Lee in Your Name Means Dream (marvellously directed in 2025 by Kat Henry), it seems fitting that Ancell has her own vehicle in Funeral Flowers. Written by Emma Dennis-Edwards, and directed by Candy Bowers, this monologue won the Scotsman First Award at Edinburgh Fringe and explores the thoughts and feelings of Seventeen-year-old Angelique who dreams of being a florist to escape her difficult adolescence (and a nice tie-in the Lawler’s play thematically, in name at least) and features elements of Rap, Spoken Word and Rhyme to bring this creative musing on self-discovery and social inequality to the stage. This production runs from the 29th of July to the 23rd of August.
Arriving 16th September to the 11th October is Angus Cameron’s new play. Heralding from Red Stitch’s INK program, he has continued to delight audiences with his witty and sparkling scripts. Luke, a two-hander supported by Dion Mills (Pomona) and Olga Makeeva (Fatboy) and directed by Gary Abrahams (Yentl) it takes place over one night in 2007, as Chris, fresh out of school and drinking too much, uncovers more than just old gossip when arguing with two of his teachers, releasing secrets best left unearthed.
A completely different show follows on11th November to the 6th December.
Carbon, written by Pier Lorenzo Pisano and translated from Italian by Atri Banerjee, this highly unusual play explores ‘tectonic shifts of perception’ as introduced by Caroline Lee OAM. Another two-hander, featuring the very busy Lee, and Harvey Zielinski (Suddenly Last Summer) and directed by Katy Maudlin, the premise of this play asks what happens when we meet The Other- An alien life form? And I’m not talking Alien the movie here. When something isn’t carbon based, how do we define humanity? What are we, as seen through the eyes of the other? Set in an interrogation room, the man who has seen the unexplainable is interrogated by a pregnant woman as they uncover the truth of the encounter. This sounds amazing and won Italy’s most prestigious award.
Lastly, we have On The Ropes, Red Stitch’s dedicated educational program. Written by Dan Giovannoni, this ambitious undertaking will run to 150 shows (one down, 149 to go) at various schools in Victoria. Presented in partnership with Peninsula Community Legal Centre, this play centres on two sixteen-year-olds whose most private photos become public. Examining consent and legal avenues, as well as domestic violence and standing firm in your own rights, this play aims to empower students and advise on free legal avenues. Featuring Justin Hosking, Milana Markovic-Matovic and Karl Richmond and directed by Krystalla Pearce with sound design by Beau Livori, this play demonstrates the reverberations that occur through one thoughtless action and how life changing they can be. For Victorian schools only.
Thanks were also given to the Kindred Donors and all supporters. A wonderful and uplifting speech was given by Vincent Miller, founder of Red Stitch, which dedicated the hard work and determination of this fantastic theatre’s ensemble, as well as the support given to its Actors and Writers graduate programs. As a writer myself, it is imperative that support continues for Red Stitch, as an avenue for new talent, and a continuing expression of New Australian Works.
Tickets for this exciting new season can be purchased at 2026 PRODUCTIONS — Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre
Image: Matto Lucas
