In an exclusive community offer, The Placeholder, a bold new queer Australian play by trans playwright Ben MacEllen, will release early bird tickets to the public ahead of the official Midsumma Festival launch.
Funny, sharp, and deeply human, The Placeholder explores how feminism, friendship, and chosen family collide — and how love is tested when those closest to us change in ways we never expected.
In a regional town, grief holds a group of women together after the death of Barb. When one of their own announces his transition, the circle begins to fracture. Loyalties splinter, old wounds reopen, and the meaning of identity and belonging is fiercely contested.
Ben MacEllen is an alumni of Midsumma Pathways, a nine-month mentorship and workshop program for LGBTQIA+ artists with disability, mentored by acclaimed actor, playwright, and screenwriter Kate Mulvany OAM (The Hunters, The Great Gatsby). Over the past 4 years, Midsumma Festival has supported Ben from ideation through to creative development and now into new independent production. This project is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
“My hope is that the play sparks conversations — around kitchen tables, between friends, and in workplaces — about what it actually means to support trans and gender diverse people. This is one story, not the whole picture — but it can be a place to begin.” – Ben MacEllen
Directed by award-winning director Kitan Petkovski (The Inheritance, Things I know to be True) and performed by an extraordinary ensemble including Maude Davey OAM (My Sister Jill), Oliver Ayres (No Seasons), Brigid Gallacher (Milk, In the Club), Rebecca Bower (The Platypus), Michelle Perera (This is Living) and Alessandra Merlo (Midnight: The Cinderella Musical), The Placeholder is a fearless and emotionally charged work about the radical act of living truthfully in a world that resists change.
Audiences are invited to a special post-show Q&A on Tuesday 3 February to discuss the making of the production with the cast and creative team. The Placeholder will premiere at fortyfivedownstairs as part of Midsumma Festival from 27 January 2026 and must end 8 February 2026.
