Every time I step into a theatre, I have a sense of anticipation. Maybe I know what I’m getting myself in for. Maybe I don’t. Each time, it could be the best thing I’ve ever seen. Or the worst.
When theatre
companies announce all their seasons for the following year, it’s a critical
mass of things to look forward to, though. It’s a list of promises and
temptations. The companies want to wow you all year round. What their season
launches do is lay out what is in store. Some of it will get you pumped and
some will be enticing.
All of it
could be amazing, but here’s what I am looking forward to most in 2026. I am
sure to be surprised by other things and find magic along the way. But here’s
what has already piqued my interest.
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Melbourne
Theatre Company’s
tagline for 2026 is “We Saved You A Seat” and it’s a lovely invitation to try
something new. And new is the name of the game at MTC this year – of their
twelve programmed shows, ten are new texts by Australian writers, most of which
have been developed through their Next Stage program.
In a time
when being safe might be a good bet, MTC is confident you’ll love new work by
local playwrights.
Do Not Pass Go by Jean Tong - about two colleagues stuck in a dreary office environment - is bound to be a clever
satire on politics and the generation divide. Tong has proved herself time and
time again to be a writer who can tackle topical dilemmas with care and skill. And laughs!
West Gate by Dennis
McIntosh – about the West Gate Bridge collapse in Melbourne in the 1970s, is a
large-scale work with a big cast and it reunites director Iain Sinclair and
several of his cast from MTC’s A View to A Bridge in 2019. This one should be emotionally hard-hitting.
The Glass Menagerie by
Tennessee Williams is only one of two classics in MTC’s 2026 season. After
seeing director Mark Wilson’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, I’m
excited to see him tackle his other favourite play – this classic memory play,
starring Alison Whyte as one of the great characters of 20th century
drama, Amanda Wigfield.
Shoelace Chaser by Madeleine
Nunn teams this indie powerhouse writer with director Liv Satchell, making her
Melbourne mainstage debut here, after wowing audiences with her Grief Trilogy
at La Mama in recent years. Add in up-and-coming star Leigh Lule in the lead
role, this collection of MTC debuts is going to be wonderful.
Eliza by multi-award winner Tom Holloway
is a play about the birth of artificial intelligence, based on the life of Joseph
Weizenbaum and the creation of a program called ELIZA in 1966 – effectively the
first chatbot. I can’t wait to see Holloway tackle such urgent subject matter,
by looking back to the beginnings of it.
Also
excited for: the return of My Brilliant Career and Retrograde by
Ryan Calais Cameron.
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For 2026, Malthouse Theatre was between Artistic
Directors – after Matthew Lutton left for the Adelaide Festival this year. Dean
Bryant was appointed as the new AD in late 2025 and he’ll start to make his
mark later in the year, but in the meantime, this year’s program was put
together by the board and the in-house artistic team.
Black Light – written and directed by Jada Alberts –
will be be a striking work about four Larrakia mothers and the passing on
of stories through the generations. But what happens when the eldest has
dementia? What happens to oral history when you start to lose a link to
history?
Indie darlings Bloomshed have been creating memorable
reworkings of classic texts for many years now, adding in their own sharp
humour – skewering the texts and examining the work from a modern perspective.
And yet in spite of all the mayhem and humour they throw at these works, the
end result never feels like the company is tearing the inspiration down. I saw
the first version of their Pride and Prejudice at Darebin Arts Centre in
2025 – and I’m so glad this will be their mainstage debut.
House of Rot by Dino Dimitriadis and Victoria
Falconer is a short-run cabaret show loosely inspired by the true story of Grey
Gardens’ two recluses: Big and Little Edie. With Paul Capsis and Adam Noviello
starring, this will be unforgettable.
Break of Day by Steve Rogers
sees director Sarah Goodes reunited with actor Kat Stewart after their success
with Red Stitch’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? I’m
excited to see a modern Australian play tackle class and the neglected populations
of rural townships.
Newly
installed AD Dean Bryant has set himself and regular collaborator, performer
Christie Whelan Browne, a challenge: a new stage production of All About Eve
with Whelan Browne playing both Margo Channing and Eve Harrington. The text is
by famed director Ivo Van Hove, whose West End production starring Gillian Anderson
and Lily James I saw in 2019. If Dean and Christie can pull this off, they
might even top that incredible experience.
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Red
Stitch had a
wonderful 2025, with their production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
closing STC’s 2025 season to rave reviews in Sydney. Back at home in their big-little
theatre, highlights included The Comeuppance by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
and two works developed through their INK program: Emily Collyer’s Super
and Keziah Warner’s What’s Yours
In 2026, as
they celebrate their twenty-fifth season, Artistic Director Ella Caldwell has
set herself and the ensemble a challenge first-up: Ray Lawler’s The Doll Trilogy done in full across a two-month season, before touring to Ballarat
and Hobart. You can even see all three plays in a single day. This is the first
time Lawlers’ trilogy has been presented in full by an ensemble group for over
forty years.
Elsewhere in
the season, I’m excited for Angus Cameron’s LUKE directed by Gary
Abrahams. Cameron’s work is always unapologetically queer and this piece sound
difficult and challenging.
And after
the company’s previous turns at small-scale science fiction, I’m excited to see
their production of Pier Lorenzo Pisano’s Carbon about a close encounter
with an alien life form. Starring Caroline Lee and Harvey Zielinski under the
assured direction of Katy Maudlin, this production should be an exciting
discovery.
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Across the
independent sector, we have a varied selection that promises to challenge the
mainstage companies.
La Mama returns to presenting new work
after a “pause” year which was anything but. After a year of opening up their
spaces for development of new work, La Mama has programmed eight shows over
February to May – all of which will be worth seeing.
I’m excited
for Elbow Room’s Saints, Stuck by regional theatremaker Megan Twycross
– directed by Susie Dee and starring Caroline Lee and Lucy Ansell, as well as Gag Reflex by Flick about a group of year 12 students teaming up to enter an
erotic manuscript contest.
In 2026, Fortyfive
Downstairs will see the third season programmed by Artistic Director
Cameron Lukey, which is a culmination of many things he’s done since he first
stepped into the AD role. He’s been collaborating with some of the most
promising independent theatremakers and this year looks very exciting.
First up is
The Placeholder by Ben MacEllen and directed by Kitan Petkovski, whose
company is dedicated to platforming the work of trans and non-binary
theatremakers. Petkovski has had another wonderful year and I am excited for this
collaboration with MacEllen.
I have heard
such praise for Grace Chapple’s Never Closer in Sydney, that this new
production from director Marni Mount and Patalog Theatre will be one of the
highlights of the theatre-going year in Melbourne.
Excited
also for Melbourne Shakespeare Company to present Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice under the direction of Gary Abrahams, Bright Star by Emmanuelle Mattana –
an adaptation of Jane Campion’s belove film, and thrilled I finally get to see
Liv Satchell’s Ballkids after missing it at Fringe in 2024.
TheatreWorks in 2026 bids farewell to Executive
Director Dianne Toulson, who has overseen the company for nine years, extending
the theatre into two venues that run year-round. It’s impossible to know what
will really stand-out during TW’s dozens of shows across the year, but I’m counting
down to productions of Tom Holloway’s early work, Red Sky Morning and Beyond the Neck, Angus Cameron’s Australian Open – a script I’ve read but
never had a chance to see – is having its Melbourne debut as part of Midsumma,
and later in the year – Caesar Caesar by Christopher Bryant, Heather
Fairbain and Kate Wild, which will be presented across both of TW’s
spaces, livestreamed between each!
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In the end,
not everything I’m excited for will be amazing and something I haven’t even
heard of yet will push its way to the front of my favourite shows of 2026.
But as with
every time I step into the theatre, every year I’m excited to see what
companies both big and small have in store. So much to look forward to. So much
to see.
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Just a
reminder, I have a Kofi account set up to support Theatre First and my
criticism in 2026. I want to make sure I can continue this work long into the
future and spending time on writing these relatively long-form reviews could
use your support – as a one-off tip or an ongoing donation.
Thanks for reading and see you in a theatre foyer in 2026!
- Keith Gow, Theatre First
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