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Ballet At Its Darkest: Big Live’s Dracula Returns To Sydney & Melbourne

21/08/2026 Breaking News

AUSTRALIAN-BORN DRACULA EXPANDS TO 65 PERFORMANCES ACROSS SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE

Fresh from sold-out international seasons, BIG Live brings its Brisbane-born global success back to Melbourne and Sydney, across 65 performances. Following sold-out seasons in London’s West End and the United States, and a record-breaking tour across Australia and New Zealand in 2025, BIG Live’s critically acclaimed Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest will return home for 65 performances across Sydney and Melbourne: 35 in Melbourne and 30 in Sydney.

The Australian-born production will play 35 performances at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, from 10 September to 25 October 2026, alongside two Sydney engagements: eight performances at the State Theatre from 22 to 27 September, followed, due to overwhelming demand, by 22 additional performances at the Capitol Theatre from 7 to 29 November 2026.

The Capitol Theatre extension adds 22 performances to the originally announced eight-show State Theatre engagement, taking Dracula’s Sydney season to 30 performances in total. It will also return a major production to dates made available after the cancellation of Beetlejuice: The Musical’s Sydney season, supporting work for artists, technicians, venue teams and the wider live-performance economy.

The additional Sydney performances have been welcomed by Foundation Theatres, with Chief Executive Graeme Kearns placing the expansion in the context of the wider pressures facing the Australian live performance sector. “The industry relies on producers with the confidence to invest, adapt and continue bringing ambitious works to our stages. It is particularly significant to see an Australian founded company developing work here, building an international audience for it and then bringing that success home. Productions of this scale sustain artists, musicians, technicians and theatre workers, while giving audiences compelling reasons to experience great live performances. We are delighted to welcome BIG Live back to the Capitol Theatre with Dracula”

In Melbourne, the season also marks BIG Live’s return to Her Majesty’s Theatre during the venue’s 140th anniversary year. “In our 140th year of proudly entertaining Melbourne audiences, Her Majesty’s Theatre is delighted to welcome BIG Live back to our stage with Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest. We are proud to present an Australian-created production that has grown into a genuine international success, performing on major stages across the United Kingdom, the United States, Asia and Australasia. Its bold storytelling, exceptional artists and impressive theatrical scale make it a particularly exciting production to welcome back to Melbourne.” Quan Tu, Chief Operating Officer, Her Majesty’s Theatre

For BIG Live, the 65-performance return is part of a wider story of Australian investment and international growth. Founded in Brisbane and operating without government funding, the independent company is on track to sell more than 400,000 tickets across its productions in 2026, with more than 200,000 people expected to see Dracula during its 2026 international tour alone. “There’s no question the touring landscape is challenging right now, but there is also real cause for confidence. The response to Dracula – both across Australia and on major international stages – shows that when work genuinely resonates with people, the demand is there. We are proud to support Australian talent and to prove that Australian-led productions can hold their own anywhere in the world. As an independent company, we have built BIG Live around audience demand, long-term employment and the confidence to move quickly when opportunities arise.” — Khalid Tarabay, Executive Director and Co-founder, BIG Live

For Artistic Director and Co-founder Joel Burke, the Australian seasons are also a creative homecoming for a production developed in Brisbane and now established on major international stages. “Dracula was created in Brisbane with the belief that ballet can deliver the same emotional intensity, scale and excitement as any major theatrical production. We wanted to create something cinematic, immediate and unapologetically theatrical – an experience that could connect with devoted ballet audiences while also bringing people into the theatre who may never previously have considered seeing a ballet. To see an Australian-created production welcomed by audiences in London, the United States and Asia, and now returning for these major seasons at home, is enormously rewarding.” — Joel Burke, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Co-founder, BIG Live

BALLET AT ITS DARKEST

Choreographed by BIG Live Artistic Director and Co-founder Joel Burke, Dracula: Ballet at its Darkest is a bold, cinematic reimagining of Bram Stoker’s gothic classic – a visceral exploration of forbidden love, grief, obsession, immortality and sacrifice.

The production features a powerhouse cast of artists with experience at the Mariinsky Theatre, English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Queensland Ballet and other leading companies. BIG Live principals Ervin Zagidullin and Abbey Hansen perform as Dracula and Mina Harker, with internationally renowned guest artist Adamzhan Bakhtiyar appearing at selected performances.

Set within a world of gothic grandeur created by award-winning CTS Design, Dracula is driven by a powerful score led by Emmy Award-winning composer Jason Fernandez and featuring masterpieces by Bach, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns and Debussy.

Dracula’s 2026 international tour has included the London Palladium, Sadler’s Wells, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre and Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre, before returning to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Further international performances are scheduled for Hong Kong and Bangkok in January 2027.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

Melbourne – Her Majesty’s Theatre: 10 September – 25 October 2026 | 35 performances | Tickets and venue information
Sydney – State Theatre: 22 – 27 September 2026 | 8 performances | Tickets and venue information
Sydney – Capitol Theatre: 7 – 29 November 2026 | 22 additional performances | Tickets and venue information

Full production and ticket information: bigliveco.com/performances/dracula

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Kim Hardwick Directs Dixon And Daughters By Deborah Bruce At The Old Fitz Theatre

11/08/2026 Breaking News

Tiny Dog Productions presents Dixon and Daughters by Deborah Bruce

“…if this house could speak.” An Australian premiere, Dixon and Daughters by Deborah Bruce comes from an acclaimed run at the National Theatre, co-produced with Clean Break Theatre in 2023. With a tight 90-minute run time and an all-female cast, Dixon and Daughters is a raw, compelling exploration of trauma, survival, and the bonds that tie family and in particular women together. When Mary returns home after serving time in prison, she wants to forget the past – intent on rebuilding her life, she walks into a household filled with hostility where her daughters are grappling with their past. Over a weekend, tensions simmer and truths emerge, exposing a history that has shaped their lives. Each woman must confront their past and what they’ve done to survive.

Balancing heartbreak with moments of surprising humour, this is a story about the courage it takes to confront pain, the complexity of forgiveness, and the possibility of breaking generational cycles. Fierce, moving and unflinchingly honest, Dixon and Daughters is a tribute to the strength of women and the painful path of healing.

Following Tiny Dog Productions’ 5-star co-production of The Children’s Hour at the Old Fitz Theatre in 2025 and their 4.5-star season of Monster by Duncan Macmillan at KXT on Broadway, we are pleased to be bringing this important story to the Old Fitz stage in September.

Cast: Vanessa Downing, Linda Nicholls-Gidley, Romney Hamilton, Sarah Jane Starr, Danette Potgieter, Rylea Eilis

Director: Kim Hardwick

Season and Performance Information:
Venue: The Old Fitz Theatre – 129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011, Australia
Season: 18 September – 3 October 2026
Performance Times: Tuesday – Saturday 7pm | Saturday Matinee 2pm | Sunday 5pm
Previews: Friday 18 September & Saturday 19 September 2026
Opening Night: Sunday 20 September 2026
Closing Night: Saturday 3 October 2026
Tickets: https://purchase.oldfitztheatre.com.au
Price: $34.50 – $86
Approximate Run Time: 90 minutes
Content Warnings: References to violence against women and girls including child sexual abuse and domestic violence, and depictions of alcohol abuse.

Creative Team highlights: Playwright Deborah Bruce; Assistant Director Jenni Russell; Producers Romney Hamilton & Celine Widjaya; Set & Props Designer Mia MacCormick; Lighting Designer Topaz Marlay-Cole; Composer & Sound Designer Nicky Pardesi; Costume & Props Designer Amelie Brown; Stage Manager Bianca Dreis; Dialect Coach Linda Nicholls-Gidley; Social Content Creator Chloe Callow; Photographer Campbell Parsons.

This production is generously supported by Darlo Drama and donors of our Australian Cultural Fund.

Tiny Dog Productions acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

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Black Swan State Theatre Company Announces Bold 2026 Season

08/10/2025 Breaking News

“2026 is a vibrant mix of powerhouse performances, uncompromising original commissions, lauded emerging voices and inspiring collaborations.” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

Black Swan State Theatre Company is thrilled to announce its 2026 Season — a dynamic year of daring stories, fresh voices and visionary collaborations. Showcasing bold new Australian works alongside reimagined classics and international gems, the program reflects Black Swan’s commitment to delivering theatre that celebrates our diversity and highlights the unique voices within it.

Black Swan begins 2026 with the captivating talents of multi-award-winning Meow Meow and her unique brand of subversive and hypnotising storytelling in Meow Meow’s Red Shoes. From fauns to swans to dazzling showgirls, Meow Meow leads us through a riotous journey of music, movement, and meaning. In Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, a girl is cursed to dance forever—yet Meow Meow wonders: what if she could never start dancing at all? Directed by Kate Champion, co-produced with Belvoir St Theatre and Malthouse Theatre and presented in association with Perth Festival, Meow Meow’s Red Shoes is at His Majesty’s Theatre for a strictly limited season 26 February to 1 March.

“Sensuously articulate and creatively comic, Meow Meow has the unique ability to seduce your brain while she reinvigorates your soul, turning tears of laughter into tender recognitions,” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

Back by popular demand, Australian legend Heather Mitchell returns in her award-winning performance as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in RBG: Of Many, One. Written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Suzie Miller, directed by Priscilla Jackman and produced by Sydney Theatre Company, this intimate theatrical portrait of one woman who changed history, returns to Heath Ledger Theatre, 19 March to 4 April.

“If our record-breaking waiting list for tickets to RBG in ‘24 was any indication, you will want to book early for this one. Witness Heather Mitchell in a career highlight as she becomes Ruth Bader Ginsberg before your eyes. An amazing real life icon, a trailblazer like none before her. This is definitely a ‘don’t miss’ production!” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

Commissioned by Black Swan and premiering at Heath Ledger Theatre 9-31 May, is the powerful reimagining of Tim Winton’s The Shepherd’s Hut, directed by Tim McGarry. Fifteen-year-old Jaxie Clackton, angry and alone, flees across WA’s salt lands. Instead of freedom, he finds Fintan MacGillis, a disgraced priest exiled to a crumbling hut at the edge of the world. As the unlikely pair form a fragile bond, buried secrets rise, forcing both to reckon with their pasts and confront life-changing choices. Directed by Matt Edgerton and starring George Shevtsov, The Shepherd’s Hut is a raw and poetic exploration of masculinity, isolation and the violence of hope.

“Quintessentially West Australian, Tim Winton’s writing has no comparison in its ability to capture how our human nature is inextricably linked to the landscape we inhabit. The Shepherd’s Hut, cleverly adapted by Tim McGarry, takes us into the probing isolation of nature in search of personal redemption and release,” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

Who decides where care stops and control begins? This age-old question is explored in The Almighty Sometimes at Subiaco Arts Centre, 19 June to 5 July. Anna has been medicated for as long as she can remember. At 18, she wonders who she is without all that: could she fall in love, go to uni, even just feel like herself? Her mother, Renée, clings to the fragile calm they’ve fought to keep—but Anna’s choices are no longer hers to make. Written by Kendall Feaver and directed by Emily McLean, The Almighty Sometimes is a gripping portrait of a mother and daughter wrestling with love, risk and identity.

“The Almighty Sometimes is the deeply affecting early play by Australian author Kendall Fever. Such an impressive debut, this play captures the heart-wrenching dilemma of any parent who has had to learn to let their offspring finally steer their own course alongside the experience of a young adult who needs to rebel in order to test their own boundaries – even at the expense of heartbreak and damage. Did I mention it’s also funny?” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

From the pen of well-known West Australian writer and artist Will O’Mahony comes the world premiere of Day (After Day) In The Life Of The Useless. Pete’s wedding is off. Dumped and branded “a robot,” he turns to AI for guidance. Its advice? “Live well”. Easier said than done. What follows is a freefall of outrageous encounters, comic disasters and spectacularly bad luck. When life boots you off the bus of life, can you ever climb back on—and is AI already driving? Directed by Adam Mitchell, Day (After Day) In the Life Of The Useless is at Heath Ledger Theatre 29 August to 20 September.

“An artist long associated to Black Swan and fondly familiar to its audiences, Will O’Mahony’s brand new play Day (After Day) In The Life of Useless is a deftly woven, giddy portrayal of a character who, with best intentions to rise above, descends ever lower into own goals and unfortunate circumstances. New writing, locally generated, bold, exciting and original,” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

Associate Artistic Director Naomi Pigram-Mitchell leads a stellar cast of Broome’s finest musicians, vocalists, dancers and performers in a concert that pays homage to the legendary artists who came before and amplifies the voices shaping the future. Following a sold-out 2025 Perth season, Raised in Big Spirit Country is heading home to Broome to the Goolarri Amphitheatre 3-5 September.

“Raised in Big Spirit Country is a co-production which we are extremely proud of. It harks back to Black Swan’s foundation as one of the first major theatre companies to champion original Aboriginal plays and musicals. Naomi Pigram Mitchell has nurtured this production into life where its Perth debut was a sold-out hit. It is now returning to its roots in Broome where it will continue to develop and evolve its magical mix of song and story-telling,” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

The second half of 2026 brings together two of WA’s leading theatre companies, Black Swan and Yirra Yaakin, for a bold new co-production that is as confronting as it is hilarious, and personal as it is political. Jacky is a biting new play about family, work, culture and the compromises we make to survive. With wit, grit and a wicked sense of humour, Declan Furber Gillick shines a light on the cost of navigating identity in contemporary Australia through Jacky, a smart and enterprising young Aboriginal man making a life for himself in the city. Directed by Kate Champion and Maitland Schnaars, Jacky is at Subiaco Arts Centre 23 October to 8 November.

“Another early play from an outstanding young Australian playwright – Declan Furber Gillick. Jacky received outstandingly positive reactions from critics and audiences alike in Melbourne and Sydney. I’m thrilled that we’re able to present an original production of this provocative play in collaboration with our Perth-based artistic neighbours Yirra Yaakin,” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

Concluding the 2026 season is the ever-popular The Pool, ready to make a splash in regional WA, including Port Hedland, Karratha, Newman and Wagin before a special return season at a new aquatic centre in Perth. Written by Steve Rodgers and directed by Kate Champion, audiences are invited poolside to share, via personal headsets, a glimpse into the lives of people who call their local pool their second home.

“After its extremely successful Perth Festival ’24 debut, our production of The Pool will tour regional WA in ’26. Celebrating each local community who gravitate towards these venerated public spaces, we look forward to sharing the delight this production brings to pool lovers of every age and aquatic ability,” Kate Champion, Artistic Director.

The 2026 Black Swan season is on sale to Friends of Black Swan on 7 October and to the General Public on 14 October. Tickets: blackswantheatre.com.au

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Wife – An Exploration

04/04/202512/10/2024 Linda Lokhee🏆💎🦉🎭🎶

Wife Rating

★★★★★

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What is the meaning of the word Wife? Australian playwright, Samuel Adamson’s script, explores gender roles and expectations of marriage through four-time chapters and three generations, taking us back to our past and into the future.

New Theatre’s production of Wife begins in 1959, with a fraught dialogue between a husband and wife behind the closed door of a house. We are eavesdroppers at the disintegration of a traditional marriage. We learn that this is a play within a play – the closing act of A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen and first published and set in 1879. Nora makes the decision to leave her husband and three children in search of freedom – and it is this ‘unthinkable act’ of a woman where the audience first gets to explore the role of a wife.

Daisy, portrayed by Imogen Trevillion, and her husband go backstage and meet with Suzannah, played by Julia Vosnakis. It is here that Robert, portrayed with scathing disdain by Will Manton, lets loose his opinion on what a dreadful woman Nora was for leaving her family. His demands on his wife and the way he speaks to her echoes the male chauvinistic attitudes that were the norm in marriages. Have expectations changed in 80 years from 1879? It seems not, in 1959.

When Robert leaves, we see that Daisy and Suzannah are secret lovers. Daisy, similarly to Ibsen’s character Nora, have followed society’s expectations at the expense of personal truths, and in Daisy’s case, her sexual identity. Daisy, who is pregnant, is at crossroads and her decision flows on to the next generations.

In the second chapter, set in 1988, two characters sit at a bar following the performance of A Doll’s House. Daisy’s son Ivar (Will Manton) is proudly, and loudly openly gay, and Eric, played by Henry Lopez Lopez, is more in the closet than Ivar. This is a scene where the intensity of the actors’ performances impressed me. One line particularly, which Ivar throws at Eric that he was so “deep in the closet you’re in Narnia!” was well appreciated by the audience. It was interesting to see that Ivar appeared to be quite the bully to his partner Eric, and I drew parallels between Ivar and his father Robert. Relationship inequities still exist, in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.
Society had changed by 1988, and people were free to be themselves in public. But even so, they were still being treated with open hostility and discriminated against by the pub landowner, played by Pete Walters.

In 2019, a couple – Clare (Imogen Trevillion) who is Eric’s daughter, and her fiancé Finn (Will Manton) meet after seeing a production of A Doll’s House, where Cas (Henry Lopez Lopez) plays the lead in a gender flip version of Nora. Cas’ partner, who he calls his wife, is Ivor (now played by Pete Walters). Henry’s Cas is flamboyantly camp, and makes the audience laugh with his toast, “Come in your eye!”. The dialogue and interaction between him and Clare is wickedly sharp when talking about evolving – “the world is still made out of prison cells”.

Clare, desperate to know more about her father, has been searching and desperately wants to know more about him, via the man her father truely loved and called a “Firebrand”. Here we delve into middle-aged Ivar, who we last saw at the bar in 1988; a man who was once passionate about gay rights who fought against homosexual discrimination, and is now complacent. Cas now appears to be the leading partner. We hear from Clare how Eric changed throughout the years since we had last seen him, no longer in the closet but fighting against discrimination.

The last act takes place in 2042, where Clare’s daughter Daisy (Imogen Trevillion) goes backstage to see Susannah (Julia Vosnakis), after a performance of Ibsen’s play. Keep a look out for the significance of the tambourine!

Aibhlinn and Burley Stoke’s costume design placed the characters well into multiple time periods. Dr David Marshall-Martin’s set design of The Dollhouse morphed well into the dressing room and pub scenes. The use of a flower trellis in the final scene was effective in it’s simplicity and I felt was a nod to Daisy.

Wife is a deliciously layered play with many characters through the timelines, and the actors portraying multiple characters did so with visual authenticity. They were quick with the dialogue, with Will, Imogen and Peter slipping into their multiple three characters with ease.
The connections between family, if a tad confusing during the first act, become clear in the second act, with the links and characters continuing to tie the story together. The complexity and depth of the story made me want to keep going back to ponder this play after it had finished.

Wife was directed by Darrin Redgate (Boyslikeme Productions) who skilfully pulled together this play to create a thought provoking production with a deep exploration into equality in marriage, gender roles, and societal expectations. Darrin’s vision of Wife and the cast and creative team will have the audience questioning the role of a wife, queer rights and how change can happen over a lifetime.

Wife is playing at the New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown.

Show Run: Wed 8 Oct – 2 Nov 2024

Tickets: from $32- $37

Running Time: 2 hours 25 minutes (including interval)

www.newtheatre.org.au/wife

Photographer: Bob Seary

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