Melbourne Theatre Company 2027: Electrifying new Australian works and thrilling Australian premieres

Melbourne Theatre Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Anne-Louise Sarks, has announced their program for 2027 – and it’s an exciting mix of local work and recent hits from New York and London.

Most of the new work has been supported by MTC’s Next Stage program for local writers; five of these writers have been directly commissioned by the company to create these new works. It’s a testament to Sarks’ leadership that so much of the work the company is producing are works they have nurtured from the beginning. (Under previous leadership, MTC was known for commissioning a lot of work that never saw the light of day. The new work that premiered a decade ago was a much smaller percentage of an MTC season.)

Of the 11 works that MTC will stage next year, three of them are co-productions with other mainstage theatre companies. At a time when difficult decisions have to be made about programming, sharing the production costs across states makes sense – though it does mean the output across the country’s main stages are shrinking.

Stereophonic by David Adjmi is an MTC/Belvoir/QTC co-pro of a play that was the most-nominated play in Tony Awards history. The story of a band in the 1970s struggling to write their new album, it is inspired by Fleetwood Mac and the creation of Rumours. The music is written by Will Butler from Arcade Fire.

Nearly a decade ago, Bell Shakespeare staged a production of Richard III with national treasure Kate Mulvany in the lead role. Mulvany was extraordinary and in 2027, she will back in the role, but this time in a solo performance – playing every other character in the show, too. Under Ian Michael’s direction, Richard will get to tell his own story. How will that go?

Director Iain Sinclair returns to MTC (after West Gate this year) to direct Edward Albee’s classic, A Delicate Balance. Sinclair has a way to make classics sing and this one is rarely produced. With a cast including Sigrid Thornton, Nadine Garner and Erik Thompson, this promises to be very memorable.

When H.G. Wells wrote War of the Worlds, he drew inspiration from The Black War, the catastrophic colonisation of the Palawa people of Lutruwita (Tasmania). Now award-winning Wirlomin Noongar writer Claire G. Coleman has created a new version of the classic tale with director Joe Paradis Lui which will centre the people whose stories Wells stole for his novel. This is the MTC’s Education season show and will tour to regional areas after premiering in Melbourne. I cannot wait for this one; challenging and political, turning a well-known story on its head.

Dirty Diamonds is a co-pro with Belvoir and will be presented as part of RISING, it’s a road-trip story and a crime caper, based on the Argyle diamond mine heist of the 1980s. Written and directed by Abbie-Lee Lewis, this promises to go at full-throttle.

Rebels is about the future of Australian cricket in the 1980s, written by Julian Larnach and directed by Jessica Arthur. It’s a three-hander set a Kirribilli House, centred on Prime Minister Bob Hawke, billionaire Kerry Packer and Clive Lloyd, captain of the West Indies cricket team.

Kimberly Bellflower’s John Proctor is the Villain is a modern-day revisionist take on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, putting teenage girls at the centre of a story where they’ve always been the victim. Anne-Louise Sarks directs the Australian premiere production, which is a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company. This play has received raves from its New York and West End seasons and is another show from this season that looks at an old story in a contemporary way.

Winsome Pinnock’s The Authenticator is direct from the West End and will be directed by Zindzi Okenyo and star Chika Ikogwe, Brigid Zengeni and Mandy McElhinney. It’s about a family inheritance and the impacts of colonisation – another thread running through MTC’s 2027.

Another distinctly Australian tale, done in a new way, Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical puts the country’s most famous race horse on stage with songs. Yes, Phar Lap gets to sing a tune or two, too. Directed by Sheridan Harbridge, this production debuted at the Hayes Theatre in a sold-out season. Its stop at MTC is part of a national tour.

Acclaimed Australian playwright Andrew Bovell has written a new play called Every Second Wednesday, about the parents, partners and siblings of addicts. Bovell’s writing is always rich and complex, his characters layered and complicated. This promises to be a highlight of the year.

Rounding out 2027 will see Rachel Griffiths return to MTC for the first time in twenty years to star in Clarice by Trudy Hellier, about one of Australia’s great early painters. Director Simon Phillips also returns to the MTC fold to bring this unique collaboration to life.

With several shows still to come in 2026, MTC has crafted a follow-up year that continues its recent tradition of giving us bold new local works, alongside some cutting-edge stuff from New York and London. Our state theatre companies should be leading the way and it’s thrilling to say that Melbourne Theatre Company has become one of the country’s most exciting main stage companies. Serving up old stories in new ways and new stories ready to shake things up.