By arts editor Helen Musa

At a packed season launch on Friday, Canberra Repertory Society announced that it will celebrate 95 years of community theatre in 2027.

With six productions at Rep’s theatre in Acton, the 2027 season will pay tribute to the contribution the society has made to Canberra’s cultural life over almost a century since being founded in 1932.

The grand old theatre’s season, ranging from classic drama and literary adaptations to comedy and murder mysteries, brings together favourite works by Neil Simon, Louisa May Alcott, Arthur Miller and Agatha Christie.

Notable is Rep’s decision to bring younger directors to the forefront, giving them the opportunity to tackle some of the best-known works in the theatrical repertoire.

Opening in February will be Neil Simon’s comedy The Odd Couple, directed by Lachlan Ruffy. The play follows divorced sportswriter Oscar Madison, whose decision to share his Manhattan apartment with the neurotic, fastidious Felix Ungar leads to domestic chaos and a test of their friendship.

Then, in April and May, Alex Pelvin, whose production of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors runs this November, will direct Little Women, Kate Hamill’s contemporary adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. The story follows Jo March and her sisters as they balance their ambitions with society’s expectations, exploring sisterhood, creativity and the search for independence.

June brings Bleak Expectations, Mark Evans’ riotous parody of Victorian melodrama, directed by Jarrad West. Inspired by the world of Charles Dickens, it follows half-orphan Pip, of Great Expectations fame, through a succession of villains, improbable coincidences and ridiculous misfortunes.

Arthur Miller’s first major commercial success, the 1947 play All My Sons, is being directed by Amy Kowalczuk and will be staged in July and August. Set in the aftermath of World War II, it examines the Keller family’s apparently successful life and the buried secrets that threaten to destroy it.

September will bring the comic murder mystery Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall by Jamie Oxenbould and Mark Kilmurry, directed by veteran theatre-maker Cate Clelland. It’s a familiar scenario: when illness strikes most of the cast on opening night, a small group of actors and backstage staff must try to keep the show going. What could possibly go wrong?

The season will conclude in November and December with Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced, adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon and directed by Ylaria Rodgers. When a local newspaper advertises a murder in advance, the residents of Chipping Cleghorn are drawn into a mystery involving none other than Miss Marple.

Canberra Rep 2027 season, bookings here.

At a glance: Canberra Rep’s 2027 season

• The Odd Couple, directed by Lachlan Ruffy, February.
• Little Women, directed by Alex Pelvin, April to May.
• Bleak Expectations, directed by Jarrad West, June.
• All My Sons, directed by Amy Kowalczuk, July to August.
• Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall, directed by Cate Clelland, September.
• Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, directed by Ylaria Rodgers, November to December.

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