Malthouse Theatre today unveiled its daring and diverse 2026 program, inviting audiences into a year of intimate portraits, radical reimaginings, powerful new voices and unforgettable live experiences.
With works spanning contemporary drama, iconic adaptations, riotous comedy, and world-class cabaret, Malthouse continues its commitment to presenting theatre that speaks to our times.
“Our 2026 program is a testament to the extraordinary ambition, creativity, and diversity of artists working today,” said Vivia Hickman, Executive Producer & Co-CEO of Malthouse Theatre.
“It brings together a dynamic range of voices, some iconic and beloved, others fresh and daring, who are shaping the cultural conversation in powerful ways. Through their work, we are opening our doors to stories that not only inspire and entertain but also speak with urgency to our audiences and to the complex times we live in. Each piece invites us to listen more deeply, to see more clearly, and to imagine more boldly what our shared future might hold.”
Opening the season are two new Malthouse commissions, beginning with Black Light (13 February–7 March), written and directed by Larrakia, Yanyuwa, Bardi and Wardaman person Jada Alberts (Brothers Wreck), starring real-life sisters Lisa Maza and Rachael Maza. This intimate and powerful portrait of contemporary Blak motherhood captures life under the weight of fear, resilience and love.
Then from 1–23 May, Game. Set. Match., written by and starring masterful comedic actor and proud Gamilaroi woman Megan Wilding, takes audiences on a journey from opposites-attract rom-com to devastating revenge thriller, under the direction of Malthouse’s New Work Associate, Jessica Arthur.
The world premiere of the award-winning Australian play Break of Day (7–29 August) by Steve Rodgers will see director Sarah Goodes once again team up with powerhouse stage and screen star Kat Stewart (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf). Together, they bring to life a moving tale of a mother and daughter navigating life in a town the NBN forgot.
Later in the year, incoming Malthouse Artistic Director Dean Bryant will take on Ivo van Hove’s electrifying stage adaptation of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s American classic All About Eve (20 November–12 December). This thrilling tale of ambition and celebrity stars Christie Whelan Browne in the dual roles of aging Broadway star Margo Channing and ingénue Eve Harrington.
Bryant reflected, “All About Eve is a story I’ve been obsessed with putting on stage for years. It’s wicked, hilarious, full of juicy roles for actors, and is the uber-story about the relentless nature of ambition. Not to mention it has some of the sharpest dialogue ever written. I can’t wait for audiences to see this story, adapted by genius Ivo van Hove, onstage in Australia for the first time.
“To direct my first production as Artistic Director of Malthouse with this fierce, stylish and unsettling work feels both terrifying and exhilarating. Christie Whelan Browne and I have made ambitious theatre pieces together, but this one really raises the bar. Having her take on the iconic roles of Margo and Eve, often playing scenes with herself, will be a theatrical event unlike anything we’ve seen.”
The knockout Griffin Theatre Company production of Michelle Lim Davidson’s Koreaboo (24 September–10 October) arrives at Malthouse following a sold-out 2025 season in Sydney. Directed by Jessica Arthur, Davidson’s debut play takes audiences to Seoul on a tender journey of identity and belonging.
Australian stage royalty Paul Capsis (Cabaret) and the magnetic Adam Noviello (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) bring a cabaret invocation of Big and Little Edie to the Merlyn for three nights only, with Green Door Theatre Company’s HOUSE OF ROT: GREY GARDENS (18–20 June) created by Dino Dimitriadis and Victoria Falconer. Centred around two eccentric recluses living in a house slowly falling in on itself, this is part unholy communion, part elegy in heels. Beauty fades, madness sings.
Following a critically acclaimed tour season traversing Preston to Geelong to Canberra in 2025, Malthouse is delighted to welcome Bloomshed’s inventive staging of Pride and Prejudice (14–23 May). Jane Austen’s classic romance and society satire is given a delectable modern twist, reimagined with Bloomshed’s signature wit from the depths of a housing crisis.
One of Australia’s most celebrated and prolific choreographers, Stephanie Lake, returns to Malthouse in July with the world premiere of her latest contemporary dance work, Vista (22 July–1 August). Featuring an extraordinary ensemble of dancers and creative collaborators, Vista will showcase Stephanie Lake Company’s signature explosive physicality, poetic imagery, and razor-sharp precision.
Continuing to support theatrical innovation in all its forms, Malthouse will transform its Bagging Room into a unique live performance experience, The Nightline (13–29 August), created by Roslyn Oades and Bob Scott. Exploring themes of loneliness and connection, audiences are invited to navigate a switchboard of hundreds of real-life, anonymous voice messages left by shift workers, insomniacs, truck drivers, new parents, revellers, and all manner of fellow night owls.
The program also features the world premiere of Ritual Ritual Ritual (19–31 October) by Rae Perks, an exploration of climate change through intergenerational hope, commissioned for Malthouse’s award-winning high school participatory program, The Suitcase Series.
A cornerstone of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and attracting over 23,000 people annually, Malthouse Comedy (26 March–19 April) is back for its 10th anniversary season. This year, Malthouse will also host the inaugural Australian Trans Theatre Festival (19–31 January), showcasing new works and workshops by leading trans and gender diverse artists, including Travis Alabanza, Daley Rangi and Zoe Terakes.
In 2026, three Malthouse productions go on the road with The Birds starring Paula Arundell at Belvoir (14 May–14 June), Wake in Fright starring Zahra Newman, presented by Griffin Theatre Company at Belvoir (17 June–5 July), andMeow Meow’s The Red Shoes at Black Swan State Theatre Company (26 February–1 March).
Tickets for Malthouse Theatre’s 2026 season are on sale from 7:30pm, Tuesday 14 October via www.malthousetheatre.com.au
