Prepare to be simultaneously charmed and berated by self proclaimed artist, incompetent anarchist, and lover of grapes. Award-winning clown and character comedian, Em Barrett will debut her cult comedy creation, Johann in Ode To A Grape at Melbourne Fringe 2026. An...

This September, Theatre Works unleashes a visceral new production of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Adapted by Nigel Williams and directed by award-winning theatre-maker Steven Mitchell Wright (MEDEA: Out of the Mouths of Babes, Away, Ghosts), this powerful...

He’s spent a lifetime answering other people’s calls. Now he has to answer his own. The Memory Mirror, a powerful new Australian play, premieres at Brunswick Mechanics Institute this September. A paramedic who has spent a lifetime answering other people's calls for...

Venture down the rabbit hole for the exclusive 2026 Sydney season of Cirque Alice, an epic new show from the creators of Cirque Du Soleil’s Mad Apple and the international smash hits The Illusionists, Le Noir, Circus 1903 and Now You See Me Live, that will transform...

After thrilling Melbourne audiences in 2025, the smash-hit An Evening Without Kate Bush, starring Sarah-Louise Young, returns to Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne from 13 – 18 October 2026. Audiences of the cult cabaret are invited to enter Strange Phenomena, howl...

The World’s #1 Musical Set to Make Its Triumphant Return to Melbourne   Tickets for performances at the Regent Theatre go on sale from 15 October 2026.   One of the world's most beloved stage productions is set to arrive in Melbourne, as Disney's THE LION...

The world has spent hundreds of years researching and questioning who Shakespeare was, but few asked the far more interesting question; who was his wife? After a successful run at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival earlier this year, Cubby House Theatre brings their...

International dance phenomenon Burn The Floor has announced a new charity partnership with NextSense, with a special Charity Gala performance of its spectacular new production LUMINOUS to be held at Coliseum Theatre on Saturday 26 September 2026. Hosted by beloved...

GHOSTLIGHT THEATRE CO. UNLEASHES ITS BIGGEST PRODUCTION YET WITH A BOLD, BLOOD-SOAKED TAKE ON DRACULA Brisbane’s award-winning Ghostlight Theatre Co. brings William McNulty’s Dracula to the stage for four performances only this October. Award-winning Brisbane-based...

During the September school holidays, a forest of tall cardboard trees will fill The Edge at Fed Square. Children and families are invited to explore and then add to this strange and delicate place using only paper, tape and their imaginations. Performers roam, and...

In this World Premiere of The Enormous Radio, The Substation Main Space will play host to a ring of old radios, replete with glowing dials, crackling speakers and twitchy antennas. Feeling somehow like a séance, what are these old-school communication devices tuning...

Ensemble Theatre is delighted to present its 2027 season, featuring ten extraordinary productions. From world premieres to beloved classics, the season showcases outstanding new Australian voices and celebrated international playwrights, placing exceptional stories at...

The 2026 Melbourne Festival of Puppetry has expanded across Naarm/The City of Melbourne to include Arts Centre Melbourne, ACMI and the Motley Wherehaus as well as returning to our beloved La Mama and the community of Carlton. With workshops, masterclasses, shows for...

The lead cast for the Australian tour of the stage adaptation of one of the most popular and enduring films of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, was announced today. Direct from its acclaimed UK tour, The Shawshank Redemption will play in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth...

A ruined Spanish theatre sets the stage for Verdi’s haunting Il Trovatore - a story of love, power and revenge filled with one musical highlight followed by another. Melbourne Opera’s production of Il Trovatore is dedicated to the memory of Dame Joan Sutherland, AC...

The National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) is proud to present the second-year student ensemble show, titled Behind the Veil, directed by Kate Fryer, showing 15 – 19 September at NICA’s National Circus Centre in Prahran. Welcome to a world where perfection is...

Curiosity is a spark. Melbourne Fringe Festival is where it catches alight. This year Melbourne Fringe Festival is challenging Melbournians to Turn Towards the Heat when the Festival returns from 29 September to 18 October 2026. Amid a cultural moment where answers...

Britain, 1981. Two women have reached the top of their respective fields. Tory, Margaret Thatcher has been elected the United Kingdom’s first female Prime Minister and Marlene has been promoted to Managing Director of Top Girls Employment Agency. To celebrate, Marlene...

The sermon on the mount returns to Arts Centre Melbourne for a victory lap – including hot new takes on today’s world – as Jonathan Biggins transforms into the visionary, reformer and rabble-rouser, Paul Keating. Exploring the former PM’s landmark political...

City of Newcastle unveils the bold full program for its flagship arts festival – transforming Newcastle's beaches, ocean baths, laneways, parks and beloved landmarks into stages for 10 days of art, music and ideas from 25 September to 4 October 2026. From sunrise...

In the heart of late-nineties London, a quartet of strangers are drawn together by chance, passion and temptation. As relationships shift and loyalties are tested, a tangled web of love and duplicity transforms into a dangerous game where desire and deception blur the...

THE CASTLE EXTENDS MELBOURNE SEASON DUE TO EXTRAORDINARY DEMAND   NEW PERFORMANCES RELEASED THROUGH TO 25 APRIL 2027   NEW TICKETS ON SALE TODAY AT WWW.THECASTLEONSTAGE.COM.AU    IT’S THE CASTLE. IT’S THE STAGE. IT’S THE VIBE.     Just one week after...

A curated public program celebrates four decades of creativity, community and contemporary dance Sydney Dance Company will celebrate 40 Years at the Wharf with a program inviting audiences inside its home at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct to discover the people, stories...

Stagebugs Productions is thrilled to bring Mel Brooks’ Tony Award-winning musical comedy Young Frankenstein to Theatre Works, St Kilda, from 8–24 October 2026. Based on the beloved comedy film by Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein is a monstrously funny musical filled...

The critically acclaimed production Death of a Salesman, starring Anthony LaPaglia alongside Alison Whyte, Josh Helman and Ben O’Toole, commences previews at Her Majesty’s Theatre next Tuesday 11 August. The production today announced it will also tour to Adelaide’s...

30 years after their first solo show Parlour Volatile unleashed the volcanic force of Moira Finucane and had critics, audiences and academics scrambling for synonyms of ‘inexplicable’, Melbourne’s international legends of Provocative Variety celebrate turning 30 by...

. It was announced today that Melbourne will welcome the record breaking brand-new production of Noël Coward's comedy masterpiece Private Lives in 2027, starring internationally acclaimed British actor Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington) alongside four-time...

Following exceptional demand, final tickets for the current Sydney season of Disney’s THE LION KING will go on sale this week, as the world's #1 musical finalises its record-breaking run at the Capitol Theatre. Tickets for performances from Wednesday 7 October until...

VicScreen and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival have joined forces to bring Victoria's next wave of comedy talent from stage to screen. Following the establishment of the VicScreen Greenlight Award in April, VicScreen and the Melbourne International Comedy...

The world premiere of GG by Conjah and PSEUDO brings the logic of gaming to street dance at Arts House as part of Now or Never. Most video games have figures who respond to the player’s choices, but they never make their own. Gamers call them NPCs, non-player...

A major theatrical event is coming to Melbourne, with internationally acclaimed entertainer Jason Donovan returning home to the city where his career first began to star in a bold new production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. One of Australia's most beloved stage...

Geelong, Australia – What’s On? Production Company (You’re A good Man Charlie Brown & The Dumb Waiter) are thrilled to announce its upcoming pro/am production of We Will Rock You – the smash-hit musical written by Ben Elton, featuring the iconic music of Queen....

The global hit Menopause The Musical® has today unveiled the cast for its 2026 Australian tour, returning to stages across the country from August with a brand-new production. The tour opens in Geelong next month before travelling to Parramatta, Melbourne, Newcastle,...

My Brilliant Apocalypse: The Return of Barry Brilliant, an original Australian theatre production playing at Bluestone Church Arts Space in Footscray from 7-9 August. A remarkable 13-member ensemble brings to life a surreal journey through imagination, identity and...

Don’t miss your chance to witness the world’s biggest artists in what is widely regarded as ballet’s event of the year. Our star-studded 2026 line-up includes: Iana Salenko (Staatsballett Berlin) Maria Khoreva (Mariinsky Theatre) Adamzhan Baktiyar (Astana Opera) Makar...

The beloved holiday classic returns this festive season. After a record-breaking sell-out 2025 season, BIG Live returns to Melbourne at the Regent Theatre for an extended series! Journey to the magical Land of Sweets this festive season and indulge in the spirit of...

Some stories stay with us forever. Direct from its acclaimed UK tour, The Shawshank Redemption comes to Australia in a powerful stage production that places you just metres from the action. Raw, intimate and deeply moving, this is theatre at its most compelling—where...

Bell Shakespeare’s acclaimed 2023 production of Shakespeare’s most haunting thriller Macbeth returns to tour nationally from this September, playing more than 20 venues across New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. The tour starts in...

Michael Cassel Group and Working Dog have today announced Australia’s most beloved film, THE CASTLE, will be reimagined for the stage in a major new theatrical play set to premiere in Melbourne at Her Majesty’s Theatre from March 2027, marking 30 years since the...

  The Australian premiere of the festive fiasco Christmas Carol Goes Wrong will fill the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with joy and laughter from 17 – 29 December 2026.     The Cornley Amateur Drama Society return to tackle the Charles Dickens classic, A...

A solo performance by cellist, composer and theatre-maker Zoë Barry. Drawing on three personal encounters with lightning and the curious events that unfolded in their aftermath, Barry explores the awe, rupture and isolation of confronting forces beyond our control. At...

VIMH is thrilled to be bringing back their Green Room Award-winning show for a special return season at fortyfivedownstairs in September 2026. Liv Satchell redefines romantic comedies in this love letter to best friendship, lonely kids and the work it takes to stay...

The 36th Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues returns this Melbourne Cup long weekend with another vibrant celebration of world-class jazz and blues, bringing acclaimed Australian artists, international influences and emerging talent to one of Australia's most...

Well crack open the Tia Maria and put on some footy franks! The smash hit drag parody play A Fountain Lakes Christmas Carol starring Art Simone, Thomas Jaspers and Lazy Susan is returning to Arts Centre Melbourne this December after a sold out season last year. But...

Four boisterous friends. One cruise liner. The holiday of a lifetime. A confrontational, award-winning play examining the menacing underbelly of Australian masculinity and mateship, Patricia Cornelius' Savages is inspired by a real-life 2002 death aboard a cruise...

Fresh from a sold-out London West End and US season, BIG Live’s critically acclaimed Dracula returns to Her Majesty’s Theatre. Choreographed by Joel Burke and featuring a powerful score led by Emmy Award-winning composer Jason Fernandez. Featuring some of the most...

The Ghostlight League are bringing back their 2024 show, William Shakespeare's Reservoir Dogs and this time they're presenting at the legendary Theatre Works in St Kilda. This show brings together the iconic characters & dialogue from Shakespeare's plays with the...

Every year, aspiring artists from across Australia decide to pursue one of the most physically demanding and creatively ambitious careers in the performing arts. From now until 14 August 2026, the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) is accepting audition...

Landmark partnership announced   The Second Cities Producing Consortium pilots new pathway for new large-scale Australian theatre works.   Creative Australia has announced the next wave of Creative Futures Fund investments, including a grant for The Second...

Griffin Theatre Company is thrilled to premiere lacuna by Eric Jiang (Rhomboid, ORIGIN STORY), an epic underworld dive into family, forgetting, and the dire consequences of commodifying the divine. The show will open at Belvoir’s Downstairs Theatre from 30 July to 15...

AUSTRALIAN SCREEN AND STAGE LEGEND JOHN WATERS JOINS THE CAST OF FIDDLER ON THE ROOF   STARRING TROY SUSSMAN AND ALEXIS FISHMAN WITH SIGRID THORNTON LONDON’S TWICE SOLD-OUT PRODUCTION TO PREMIERE AT THEATRE ROYAL SYDNEY NEXT WEEK   Producers of the multi award...

  AMERICAN PSYCHO – THE MUSICAL announces Melbourne and Brisbane tour following sell-out 2025 season Full cast announced for the blood-soaked production starring Conor Beaumont as Patrick Bateman. Australia’s theatre scene will get a shot of adrenaline with the...

  La Mama Explorations is a celebrated three-night works-in-development program supporting the next generation of Australian theatre. Created and developed by award-winning Boorloo/Perth multidisciplinary artist and creative producer Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’, and...

Sydney Dance Company presents Current from 3-20 September, inviting audiences into the intimate setting of the Neilson Studio for a program of new and acclaimed contemporary works experienced at close range. Current brings together three world premieres by Raghav...

Orchestra Victoria and Newmarket Collective will present Across Silence in Melbourne/Narrm this August, Australia’s first orchestral performance to combine Auslan poetry, live chamber music and vibro-tactile haptic technology in a shared experience for d/Deaf and...

60-piece Australian Pops Orchestra announces a star-studded line up for New Year’s Eve!   Starring Caroline O'Connor and Mark Vincent plus John Foreman and the Australian Pops Orchestra   The place to be this New Year’s Eve is with the Australian Pops Orchestra at...

  THE PROMOTIONS ARE IN: CAST ANNOUNCED FOR HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING   The multiple award-winning producer behind RENT and Catch Me If You Can, LPD Productions is delighted to announce the cast for its upcoming production of How to...

  Christmas in The Grandparents Club is coming to NSW, ACT, VIC (Shepparton) and QLD from 1 November 2026. The third instalment in the hit Australian musical comedy trilogy stars 2025 Gold and Silver Logie winner Lynne McGranger.   Tickets are on sale now at...

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY: ELF THE MUSICAL TO MAKE ITS MELBOURNE PREMIERE HOLIDAY MAGIC ARRIVES AT CROWN LIVE FROM NOVEMBER 2026     Melbourne, Australia: Christmas has come early with the announcement that Elf The Musical will premiere in Melbourne in the new...

  Adelaide Current - Heathers Adelaide, what is your damage? Heathers: The Musical is taking over Her Majesty's Theatre from July 16th to 26th, 2026, and trust us, you will want a front-row seat to the chaos. This is not your average high school story. It is...

The Victorian State Schools Spectacular returns to Melbourne's John Cain Arena on Saturday 29 August 2026 with its inspiring new production, This Is Me, celebrating the creativity, confidence and extraordinary talent of Victorian government school students. Presented...

Monash University Performing Arts Centres (MPAC) has announced the recipients of its 2027 commissioning program, supporting three ambitious new projects that bring artists and researchers together to explore some of the most pressing questions of our time. Through the...

Malthouse Theatre is proud to present The Nightline, an intimate and deeply evocative immersive audio experience created by renowned documentary theatre maker Roslyn Oades and ARIA Award-winning sound artist Bob Scott. Playing at Malthouse’s Bagging Room from 13-29...

PRETTY WOMAN MUSICAL STARRING SAMANTHA JADE TO OPEN TONIGHT Red carpet to feature actual limo from iconic Hollywood film    Big news. Big. Huge! The much-loved Broadway and West End smash hit musical PRETTY WOMAN: The Musical will have its red carpet Melbourne...

Shakespeare’s epic tale of passion, power, and empire returns to the Melbourne stage for the first time in almost 10 years! Melbourne Shakespeare Company is proud to present Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, directed by multi–award-winning artist Sonya Suares in a...

Arts Centre Melbourne’s newly refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre will reopen on 3 October 2026, with a powerful world-premiere First Nations-led concert, Gugu Dindi Gunyah (Many Rivers. One Home) created by Mutti Mutti, Nari Nari, Yorta Yorta Songman Kutcha Edwards...

The celebrated stage adaptation of one of the most popular and enduring films of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, is coming to Australia. Direct from its acclaimed UK tour, The Shawshank Redemption will play in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide from January...

    If you love live theatre, you've probably seen the news in recent weeks. It has been a harsh reminder that creating live theatre has never been more challenging, with rising production costs placing enormous pressure on our beloved industry, and several...

Sydney Fringe Festival has today unveiled its full 2026 program, featuring more than 350 events and over 2,000 artists across 64 venues this August through October. Tickets are on sale now for New South Wales' largest independent arts festival, which returns with an...

Out on the edge of a satellite city, is Burra Creek, home to the world’s largest online retail warehouse, and tonight Pam (Kat Stewart) is working the nightshift, while her daughter Rae, back home, is also pulling an all-nighter, for very different reasons. City folks...

This August, Melbourne independent company Subverse Theatre invites audiences into the dazzling and dangerous world of 18th-century opera with their premiere season of The Sacrifice of Farinelli, an original Australian work written and directed by Stuart Bruce....

The beloved film live on stage The iconic story that made us laugh, cry, and fall in love with six extraordinary women is back — live on stage in a dazzling new Australian production. Written by Robert Harling, the timeless tale of STEEL MAGNOLIAS comes alive under...

TYCHO! Beyond the Baton is a powerful new feature-length documentary exploring the life, music and legacy of Tommy Tycho AM MBE — Holocaust survivor, composer, arranger, conductor, mentor and one of Australia’s most influential musical figures. TYCHO! Beyond the...

Sydney's festive season is about to get a spectacular new centrepiece, with it announced today that the internationally acclaimed Imperial Ice Stars will return to Sydney’s Coliseum Theatre this December for an Australian-exclusive season of The Nutcracker on Ice....

The heroic pups of Adventure Bay are getting ready to race across Australia this winter! Nickelodeon, VStar Entertainment Group and TEG Life Like Touring are proud to announce an all-Australian cast for the 10th-anniversary tour of the iconic live show PAW Patrol...

VICTORIAN OPERA PRESENTS MELBOURNE DEBUT OF REG LIVERMORE’S NED KELLY: THE MUSICAL    REG LIVERMORE’S NED KELLY: THE MUSICAL 24 – 25 July Union Theatre, The University of Melbourne Tickets: $39 – $90 Book Now: www.victorianopera.com.au     Victorian Opera...

  Welcome to Stage Door Matters, where the house lights are up, the interval snacks are essential, and the Australian theatre calendar is doing absolutely nothing to calm down. This edition takes a whirl through what’s playing now, what’s about to burst onto...

Australia’s global comedy heavyweight, Jim Jefferies will bring his internationally acclaimed Son of a Carpenter tour home in 2026 for a huge run of dates across the country, hitting arenas and theatres this July and August. After selling out theatres and arenas...

David Williamson’s trademark wit, paired with Mark Kilmurry’s sharp direction, delivers a funny, fast-paced cross-examination of moral dilemmas, family dynamics, and the true cost of success. For Jane Fredericks, the fight for justice is personal. As a passionate...

Do you use Auslan at home? Join us on Sunday 19 July, 1pm for the Auslan interpreted performance of Heartbreak Hotel. Step into this cathartic comedy that explores what heartbreak does to our bodies and minds. Dressed in lavender tassels and backed by covers of...

Anthony Locascio returns to how with his new work, The Divine Comedy. World Tour. Sold-out Enmore Theatre. Dream wedding on the horizon. 2025 was set to be the best year of Anthony’s life – then everything fell apart. With his heart in ruins, desperation (and destiny)...

Nominated at the 2025 NSW Literary Prizes and hailed by the Sydney Morning Herald in a five-star review as “a blazing standout” that makes them “excited for Australian theatre,” Cut Chilli arrives in Melbourne as one of the most anticipated Australian works of the...

  It has been a difficult week for Australian theatre. With Waitress now set to close in Melbourne on July 19th and its Sydney season cancelled, following the early closure of Beetlejuice, the fragility of the commercial theatre landscape has been laid bare once...

Steven Ho is a former ER Technician turned stand-up comedian and content creator whose comedy brings the wild world of healthcare to the stage and screen. Best known for his viral “Tips from the ER” series, Steven has built a community of over 14 million fans across...

Theatre Works in St Kilda is hosting a one-night-only drama that looks unflinchingly at life, love and survival in the face of crisis. This is a rare chance to see a celebrated solo performance that’s earned serious acclaim elsewhere, now brought to a stage with a...

It was announced today that internationally acclaimed British actor Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington) and four-time Gold Logie Award-winning Australian star of stage and screen Lisa McCune (The King and I, South Pacific, Girl from the North Country) are to...

  JONES Theatrical Group is deeply saddened by the recent closures of Beetlejuice and Waitress. Our thoughts are with everyone affected—not only the performers audiences see on stage, but also the technicians, crew members, managers, musicians, wardrobe...

Chekhov’s timeless tale – full of mordant wit, unrequited love and longing – finds new life in the hands of one of Australia’s most prolific playwrights, Joanna Murray-Smith (Julia) and Artistic Director Anne-Louise Sarks. Experience Anton Chekhov’s masterful...

An outstanding cast comprising some of Australia’s finest actors is set to take the stage in GWB Entertainment and Andrew Henry Presents’ widely acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Death of a Salesman for strictly limited...

Claudia is jobless, cashless and flailing. Doomscrolling in the dark, ignoring emails from Centrelink, she wallows in the aftermath of an earth-shattering fight with her Mum. Why can’t Claudia just get a job like a good Chinese daughter? So, Claudia is delighted when...

30 years after their first solo show Parlour Volatile unleashed the volcanic force of Moira Finucane and had critics, academics and audiences scrambling for synonyms of ‘inexplicable’, the legendary theatre company Finucane & Smith celebrate turning 30 by...

Where ancient wisdom meets future worlds, Kindred People is a powerful new Indigenous-led festival weaving together global First Nations arts, culture and knowledge from 1 to 5 September 2026. Monash University’s campuses on Boonwurrung Country will be transformed...

Judy Horacek and Mem Fox’s beloved children’s book Where is the Green Sheep? will be brought to life on stage at Arts Centre Melbourne’ Playhouse stage from 22 - 26 September 2026 as part of a national tour of 80 venues over two years. The colourful stage adaptation...

Spamalot Announces Star Studded Cast For Melbourne & Sydney Season   COMEDY LEGEND STEPHEN CURRY IS THE KING OF THE CASTLE IN MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT!!!   Drew Anthony Creative is thrilled to reveal the sensational new cast for the upcoming east coast...

By Nic Conolly   This week, the theatre community finds itself in a moment of reflection, as two significant events cast a shadow across the stage: the devastating fire at Belvoir Theatre and the sudden cancellation of Beetlejuice in Australia.   Belvoir...

Farmer Jones has lost control. The animals of Manor Farm are rising up to seize the means of production, and soon these downtrodden freedom fighters will be ruling the roost themselves. But who’s got the chops to lead this rowdy bunch? They need a leader – a captain –...

Coming in July, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre presents the Australian premiere of Funeral Flowers, Emma Dennis Edwards’ unflinching and luminous portrait of survival set in the care systems of the UK where class is the final boss. Opening Wednesday 29 July, this...

Monstrous Theatre and Paul Mitchell Productions have just announced the cast for Paul Mitchell’s controversial new play The Ballad of Dan O’Malley: A Football Tragedy. Based on the true story of AFL club Melbourne’s 2009 ‘tanking’ saga – The Ballad of Dan O’Malley...

  Sofitel Melbourne On Collins and Victorian Opera unveil an exclusive photographic exhibition celebrating the unseen artistry of opera for Féte de la Musique.     In celebration of Féte de la Musique, the beloved French festival dedicated to music and...

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sleep over at the Royal Exhibition Building, a series of large-scale light installations along the Yarra River, and a homage to world-renowned American composer Philip Glass are at the heart of this year's Now or Never program. From...