It’s that time of the year when the next calendar starts to loom. People are asking about Christmas plans, end-of-year deadlines and before you know it, 2027 will already be here.
Which also means it’s that time of the year when you need to start booking tickets for the headline theatre productions that have already been announced.
Linger too long and you’ll miss out, and you spend the next three years hearing “Oh, you didn’t see The Picture of Dorian Gray? It’s so good”. But if you catch the worm, then you get to be the smug one.
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THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
Yes, it’s true, they’re reviving Kip Williams’ innovative production of The Picture of Dorian Gray. So, if you did miss out the first few times of seeing this energetic barnstormer in which one actor plays all 26 characters in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic morality tale, now’s your shot.
The original Australia seasons with the fantastic Eryn Jean Norville paved the way for Sarah Snook to take over in London and on Broadway, where the production won a bunch of awards. Now it’s coming home again, this time with Nikki Shiels in the demanding role.
JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN
Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company
John Proctor is the Villain has been one of the most exciting new shows on Broadway and in the West End, and now Australia gets its turn with this co-production between MTC and STC. It will soon be adapted into a film by Tina Fey, so you want to be able to say you saw it first on stage.
The spiky comedy takes Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and transports it to a modern-day high school where a group of year 11 girls are studying the Salem Witch Trials drama only to find parallels in their own lives and school community.
STEREOPHONIC
Belvoir Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre Company
The play might be about a fictional band on the cusp of making it big time, but more than a few people have pointed out similarities to the dramas behind the scenes of Fleetwood Mac’s journey with Rumours. Yeah, rumour has it…
It’s already played Broadway, where it was nominated for 13 Tonys, and the West End. The music was written by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler.
THE PALACE LETTERS
Sydney Theatre Company 2027 season. Credit: Sydney Theatre Company
Political intrigue among the archives. Playwright Melanie Tait takes the true life story of historian Jenny Hocking, played by Georgie Parker, who in 2020 succeeded in having unsealed a series of documents which revealed what really happened during Australia’s most significant constitutional crisis.
It was 1975 and Governor General was sacked the Whitlam Government. But what did Queen Elizabeth really know, and what decisions were made on her behalf that changed the course of Australian history.
MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES: DEATH BY DECKCHAIR
Queensland Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company
Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher books were adapted for a beloved TV series and a big screen adventure, but there are some unmined stories, one of which forms the basis for the first stage version.
The inimitable Miss Phryne Fisher smells trouble sailing the south seas on a luxury cruise where jewels are disappearing and bodies are turning up. But if anyone is going to solve the mystery, it’ll be the lady with the sharp sense of style and even sharper wit.
A GUIDE TO SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE
State Theatre Company South Australia
A Guide to Success in the Workplace. Credit: State Theatre Company South Aust
Described as a horror comedy musical, A Guide to Success in the Workplace is every HR person’s nightmare. The lead character is Sarah, who’s only been in the office for two weeks and it’s already a cesspool of toxic corporate dynamics.
From themed “fun” days to empathy workshops, it’s all terrifyingly relatable, which means at some point, there will be tears and recriminations.
THE LANDLORD
So many of our contemporary anxieties seem to be mixed into this black comedy set in Sydney’s Surry Hills by emerging playwright Grace Chapple.
The action is centred on a pair of terrace houses both owned by sixty-something John, who lives in the nice one and rents out the less fancy abode (ie. leaking) one next door. His grown-up kids have both moved back in, and it’s all getting a bit tense.
