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Cast Announced For Pride And Prejudice* (*sort Of)

Feature-Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

The cast for the 2026 Australian tour of the musical comedy Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) was announced today. The five performers who will portray the iconic roles of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley, Mr and Mrs Bennet and all other characters, will be Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Ruby Shannon and Teo Vergara. Amy Lehpamer has led the cast of national tours of & Juliet as Anne Hathaway and The Sound of Music as Maria, as well as lead roles in Dusty, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Who’s Tommy, School of Rock, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Once, Rock of Ages, The Rocky Horror Show and Shane Warne the Musical. A NIDA graduate, Zoe Ioannou most recently appeared in the Australian tour of Grease, understudying the roles of Sandy, Frenchy and Jan. Other performance credits include Hairspray, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz and at the Hayes Theare Co, Dubbo Championship Wrestling, Bridges of Madison County and Big Fish. Kaori Maeda-Judge’s varied career has seen her in productions of David Bowie’s Lazarus, White Pearl for Sydney Theatre Company, The Dismissal for Squabbalogic, The Hello Girls and Meg March in Little Women at the Hayes Theatre Co, and Jack Thorne’s Tony Award winning A Christmas Carol, as well as TV’s Neighbours. A recent graduate of QUT, Ruby Shannon is making her professional debut in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). Since graduating, Ruby has collaborated on several independent theatre, film and development projects. Teo Vergara is an actor, singer, dancer and a graduate of the VCA, who made their screen debut in the ABC series Crazy Fun Park and followed this by starring in the queer and gender diverse series Turn Up The Volume for the ABC. Teo was a member of the original Australian cast of Jagged Little Pill, and starred in the original Australian musical Converted! for ATYP.

“It has been a long-held dream to undertake this tour with our take on Austen’s masterpiece,” said writer and original director Isobel McArthur. “This show is a true celebration of love and romance so, now that the match-making is done, I cannot wait to watch Pride & Prejudice* (sort of) and its Australian audiences fall head over heels for each other.”

Co-Director Simon Harvey said, “I am delighted with the stellar cast of Australian talent we have been able to assemble for this production and can’t wait to travel down under to begin rehearsals. I feel sure that the wit, physical comedy and karaoke sound track of Isobel MacArthur’s take on Jane Austen’s timeless classic (sort of), will chime with Aussie audiences.”

Ruby Shannon, Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Teo Vergara PAPSO (c) James Terry.jpg
Ruby Shannon, Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Teo Vergara.jpg

Direct from its triumph in the West End where it won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance.

This “smart, laugh out loud funny” (Daily Telegraph) show features a string of pop classics including Young Hearts Run Free, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and You’re So Vain. Coming to Australia for the first time, these five fearless women bring Austen’s world of love, class and chaos to life with heart, humour and unstoppable energy in this modern take on one of the world’s most adapted pieces of literature.

★★★★★ “Faithful to the book, it’s also a raucously irreverent romp” – Daily Mail
★★★★★ “Riotously funny… gloriously entertaining… frankly sensational” – Variety
★★★★★ “Layer and layer of brilliance” – The Scotsman

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE* (*sort of)
By Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen
Original production directed by Isobel McArthur
Co-Director Simon Harvey
Produced by Neil Gooding Productions and Woodward Productions by arrangement with David Pugh Limited

SEASON DETAILS

MELBOURNE
Venue: Atheneum Theatre
Season: 18 June – 12 July
Performance Times: Tues-Wed 7pm, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm
Prices: From $65 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: ticketmaster.com.au or phone (03) 9650 1500
Groups 8+ visit ticketmaster.com.au
Groups 20+ email groups@ticketmaster.com.au

SYDNEY (Presented by Sydney Opera House)
Venue: Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Season: 16 July – 30 August
Performance Times: Tues-Sun 7pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 1 or 2pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $69 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/theatre/pride-prejudice-sort-of or (02) 9250 7777
Groups 8 + call (02) 9250 7777

WOLLONGONG (Presented by Merrigong Theatre Company)
Venue: IMB Theatre, IPAC
Season: 2-13 September
Performance Times: Tue 6.30pm, Wed-Thurs 6:30 or 7:30pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Thurs 11am, Sat & Sun 1:30pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $84 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: merrigong.com.au or (02) 4224 5999
Groups 8+ call (02) 4224 5999

CANBERRA
Venue: Canberra Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre
Season: 16-27 September
Performance Times: Tues 6:30pm, Wed-Sat 7:30pm, Wed, Sat & Sun 1:30pm, Sun 6:30pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $65.90 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: canberratheatrecentre.com.au or (02) 6275 2700
Groups 4+ call (02) 6275 2727

BRISBANE
Venue: Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
Season: 30 September – 18 October
Performance Times: Tues-Thurs 7pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Wed, Thurs & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $65 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: qpac.com.au or phone 136 246
Groups 8+ call (07) 3840 7466

 

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Theatre Royal Sydney Celebrates 50 Years

Feature-Theatre Royal Sydney Celebrates 50 Years

This year, Theatre Royal Sydney proudly marks the 50th anniversary of the current building on King Street, a milestone that honours a legacy of performance, architecture and community in the heart of the city.

The theatre opened in January 1976, designed by eminent architect Harry Seidler, and has since been a landmark cultural venue in Sydney.

Many leading Australian and international performers have graced the Theatre Royal Sydney stage, from Jacki Weaver and John Waters in the 1980 production of They’re Playing Our Song, to Reg Livermore and Russell Crowe starring in productions of The Rocky Horror Show in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Other artists to have trod the boards are Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy, Geraldine Turner and Nancye Hayes in Chicago, Ruth Cracknell, Warren Mitchell and Gordon Chater in The Dresser, Mel Gibson and Noni Hazlehurst in No Names .. No Pack Drill, Gwen Plumb and Amanda Muggleton in Steaming, and Todd McKenney, Georgie Parker and Sheila Bradley in Crazy For You.

The stage has housed some of the biggest musicals in the world, including the Australian Premiere of CATS in 1985 for a two-year season, and a three-year season from 1993 of The Phantom of the Opera starring the legendary Rob Guest, seen by over 1.5 million people, the longest running musical ever staged at Theatre Royal Sydney.

Tim McFarlane (Executive Chairman, Trafalgar Entertainment Asia-Pacific) said “Reaching the 50-year mark is a tremendous achievement and a testament to the vision, perseverance and creativity of everyone who has engaged with Theatre Royal Sydney. We stand on the shoulders of dramas, musicals and audiences which have walked through its doors. Our goal is to ensure this venue continues to thrive and deliver world-class performance for decades to come.

Geraldine Turner, Emily Hinwood, Tim McFarlane (c) Elise Dumpleton.jpg

“As Theatre Royal Sydney enters its next 50 years, our focus remains on delivering the finest live performance – musicals, drama, dance, comedy and more – while honouring the heritage of the building and its place in Sydney’s cultural fabric. We invite audiences, artists, producers and partners to join us in celebrating this milestone year, to reflect on the past and to look ahead to new stories, new voices and new experiences that will define the next era of this iconic stage.”

One of Australia’s oldest theatrical institutions, originating in 1832, the current Theatre Royal Sydney was built in 1976 on the same site as the original theatre, designed by acclaimed architect Harry Seidler, offering a broad range of entertainment including dramas, comedy and musicals.

Under the stewardship of premium international live entertainment business Trafalgar Entertainment, co-founded by Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire, the historic theatre re-opened in 2021 after a major two-year redevelopment. This included new seating and staging in the auditorium, designed to an international standard to house world class productions from Australia and around the world. Trafalgar’s redesign of the theatre added one extra row of seats and increased the capacity to 1200. Importantly, under the new two-tiered design, no seat within the auditorium is more than 23 metres from the stage.

Since its reopening in 2021, Theatre Royal Sydney has played host to many incredible productions, including the Australian premieres of Jagged Little Pill, Girl From The North Country and National Theatre’s The Lehman Trilogy. For nine months, the theatre was home to TINA – The Tina Turner Musical which played 301 performances to over 300,000 audience members, marking an epic coup for the Sydney theatre scene.

2025 saw a number of thrilling productions take place at Theatre Royal Sydney including Bluey’s Big Play, the Australian premiere of the Tony and Grammy award-winning musical Hadestown, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, the 40th anniversary production of CATS and the new Australian musical The Lovers.

2026 sees Pretty Woman: The Musical continuing its four-month residency followed by Cluedo in April, Steel Magnolias in May, the classic rock musical Hair in June, Fiddler on The Roof in August and SIX the Musical from October. Next month, Theatre Royal Sydney will also release an exclusive merchandise line to celebrate the anniversary.

 

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From ‘seinfeld Of Japan’ To Accidental Lawyer: Nick Abrahams Returns To Stand-up Having Finally Graduated

Feature-The Accidental Lawyer

At this stage of life, many people are invited to give inspirational speeches at graduation ceremonies. Nick Abrahams has not been invited. So instead, he wrote a comedy show about giving a terrible one. He will debut The Accidental Lawyer for Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Sydney Comedy Festival and has already sold out both shows!

The Accidental Lawyer is a sharp, fast-paced stand-up show that takes aim at the graduation speech and the comforting illusion that anyone really knows what they’re doing with their career. Nick has some insights here; he’s gone from stand-up to TV presenter to Hollywood producer to lawyer to tech entrepreneur to Professor to keynote speaker and back again!

In the show, Nick plays the last-minute replacement keynote speaker at the fictional Wangaratta Community College & Squash Centre graduation ceremony. Unfortunately for the graduates, the original speaker has cancelled and Nick has some very different advice. “I’m the inspirational speaker you get when the inspirational speaker cancels.” Says Nick. “Most people don’t choose their careers. Their careers slowly trap them like a possum in a wheelie bin. You go to one networking event in your twenties, then wake up, and you’re in middle management with a mortgage.”

Instead of urging audiences to follow their dreams, Nick explores the more common reality: careers are often about finding something that works for you, frequently by accident. Nick’s own career path has been anything but linear. Before law, he was a successful stand-up comedian in Japan, hosting his own television show and billed as the “Seinfeld of Japan.” He later worked as a creative executive at Warner Bros in Los Angeles on ER and The West Wing and produced and appeared in a film with Woody Allen.

Accidental Lawyer on stage with Accidental Lawyer behind him.png
Accidental Lawyer at bar table in court.png

Returning to Australia, Nick spent 25 years as a senior partner at a global law firm and also founded the legal AI company Lawpath, now with over 600,000 customers. Drawing on that experience, The Accidental Lawyer reflects on how careers unfold, often unpredictably and tackles the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work. “We’ll know the tipping point has arrived when robots start posting on LinkedIn about how ‘humbled and honoured’ they are to share their career updates.” Says Nick.

The show is for anyone whose career hasn’t quite gone quite according to plan. It also finds plenty of humour in the contradictions of legal life. “Being a lawyer is a dream job if your dream is working sixteen hours a day arguing over commas.” Says Nick. “It’s like being a poet—you write thousands of words nobody will ever read. But ultimately, lawyers are just trying to make the world a better place… six minutes at a time.”

This is a brilliantly structured send-up of the graduation speech – dry, insightful and packed with laughs. The Accidental Lawyer premieres at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this April.

THE ACCIDENTAL LAWYER
Nick Abrahams

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026
VENUE: Crowne Plaza, Studio 2, 1 Spencer Street, Docklands, Melbourne
DATE: Friday 17 April: 7:30pm
DURATION: 45 minutes
TICKETS: $15 (inc GST)

Sydney International Comedy Festival 2026
VENUE: Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown
DATE: Saturday 16, 9.10pm & Sunday 17 May 8.10pm
DURATION: 45 minutes
TICKETS: $20 (inc GST)

WEBSITE https://www.accidentallawyer.info

 

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Cast Of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Announced For Hayes Theatre Co

Feature-Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Producer Redfern Lane Productions is thrilled to announce the outrageously talented cast for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the devilishly cheeky, fun-filled Broadway musical opening at Hayes Theatre Co this May. In a glittering new production that’s all charm, chaos, and con artistry at its most delicious, this cast brings star power, impeccable comic timing, and just enough respectability to make the scams feel almost classy. Tickets are on sale now from www.hayestheatre.com.au

Music theatre star and Hayes Theatre Co favourite, Blake Erickson leads the cast as Lawrence Jamieson, a suave conman who believes in tricking corrupt, rich people out of their money to finance his lavish lifestyle. Currently on stage in the national tour of Cluedo, Blake most recently wowed audiences with his hilarious performance as Roger de Bris in The Producers and will later be seen on stage in My Fair Lady.

The cocky small-time American hustler Freddy Benson will be played by star of screen and stage, Rowan Witt who will make his welcome return to the Hayes. Rowan has starred in blockbuster productions Hamilton and Book of Mormon and played the leading role of Georg Nowak in She Loves Me at the Hayes. Currently, he can be seen in television series Ghosts Australia and Totally Completely Fine.

Christine Colgate, the naive and wealthy American heiress who is the target for Lawrence and Freddy’s con, will be played by Kristina McNamara (Ned Kelly, CHICAGO), and Jordan Shea (The Producers) plays police chief Andre Thibault. Two of the women conned by the pair, Muriel Eubanks and Jolene Oakes, are played by up-and-coming musical theatre stars Aurélie Roque (Pippin) and Scarlet Lindsay (Guys and Dolls). Rounding out the cast in the ensemble Oliver Clisdell, Emma Feliciano, Brendan Godwin, Madelene Kirkwood and Christopher Tendai.

Blake Erickson, Rowan Witt DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS (c) John McRae.jpg

This all-new Australian production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is directed by Rebecca McNamee (Abigail Williams), musically directed by Dylan Pollard (Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and making his choreography debut is Cameron Boxall.

Director Rebecca McNamee said “From seasoned professionals to talented graduates, the cast of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is an exciting mix of diverse, worldly experiences! It is such an honour to work with talent who jump feet first into joy, nonsense and complex storytelling. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a big show and we have found the skill and energy to match! There is a reason that performers from some of Australia’s most successful productions want to be part of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – because all their talents will be in full display. I can’t wait for you to join us in the Riviera.”

Based on the hit 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, this Tony-nominated musical comedy follows two cunning conmen — the elegant, ruthless Lawrence Jamieson and the wildly unpredictable Freddy Benson — as they go head-to-head on the French Riviera in a winner-takes-all game of deception. Their target? A sweet, unsuspecting American heiress. But in a world built on lies and reinvention, nothing — and no-one — is quite what they seem.

With a razor-sharp book by Jeffrey Lane and an irresistibly cheeky score by David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Tootsie, The Full Monty), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a riot of farcical foolishness, toe-tapping tunes, and whip-smart satire. Expect bold physical comedy, razor-edged elegance, and performances as dazzling as a Riviera sunset.

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
Director Rebecca McNamee
Music Director Dylan Pollard
Choreographer Cameron Boxall
Set Designer Soham Apte
Costume Designer Angelina Daniel
Producer Ebony Tucker
Associate Choreographer Carla Venezia
Assistant Choreographer Lauren Mitchell
Lighting Designer James Wallis

SEASON DETAILS
Venue: Hayes Theatre Co, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point
Season: 22 May – 21 June
Times: Tues 6.30pm, Wed-Sat 7.30pm, Thurs 1pm, Sat 2pm & Sunday 1pm
Price: Tickets from $79 Adult, $69 Concession/Group, $60 Under 35, Previews from $69
Bookings: www.hayestheatre.com.au

 

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