Arts writer LEN POWER reports from the season launch of the Canberra Theatre Centre.

“Ambitious, diverse and inspiring” were the words used by Arts Minister Michael Pettersson, in his introduction at the launch of the Canberra Theatre Centre’s 2026 season.

The centre promised bold new shows and even bigger rewards in 2026 as it unveiled a blockbuster year of entertainment alongside its inaugural membership program.

Interspersed with entertainment by artists from next year’s program, the evening was hosted by executive producer Lisa Freshwater, along with a live video feed from Darwin with the new director of the Canberra Theatre Centre, Georgia Hendy.

Kicking off the year will be the spectacular Cirque Alice featuring extraordinary international acts in the gravity-defying circus reimaging of Lewis Carroll’s classic adventure.

The centre will also host some of the country’s biggest touring musicals including My Brilliant Career, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), The Sapphires and Heathers The Musical.

The Wharf Revue’s Jonathan Biggins returns with The Gospel According to Paul alongside a string of other reimagined and original theatre works including Trophy Boys, Animal Farm, Autotune, The Jungle and the Sea, and Helios + Selene as well as Bell Shakespeare returning with Julius Caesar.

Bangarra Dance Theatre will debut its national tour of Sheltering in Canberra. Audiences can join the corroboree in participatory dance work, Garabari, by Joel Blak Dance. Other dance highlights in 2026 include Mountain by Melanie Lane featuring members of Canberra Symphony Orchestra; All In, Victorian State Ballet with Aladdin and BIG Live’s The Great Gatsby: A Jazz Ballet Odyssey.

The Canberra Comedy Festival returns with Dave Hughes, Melanie Bracewell and The Umbilical Brothers among the big names appearing next year.

The line-up of acts for music fans in 2026 will include genre-defying Aussie artist Meg Washington, art-rock royalty Bleak Squad, New Zealand pop sensation Bic Runga, Lisa Simone singing the songs of her mother Nina Simone, The Whitlams with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and others.

Sci-fi and action fans are in for a treat as the centre hosts a screening of Terminator 2 with an all-new score performed live and synced to a laser-light show. Luminous Ideas will bring conversation, laughter and discovery to the stage through a series of podcasts presented live during next year’s Enlighten festival.

The kids (and their adults) haven’t been forgotten either, with some of the biggest names in children’s entertainment including Playschool regular Zindzi, Spot, Where Is The Green Sheep? and, of course, Bluey’s Big Play The Stage Show.