Indies take a curtain call for a big year
Canberra’s thriving independent theatre scene is currently the most active and vibrant it has been since the 1990s – and it’s not just confined to the inner city and suburbs.
Theatre
Patrons of The Q can comfortably expect a year of delicious entertainment if artistic director Jordan Best’s announcement of the 2026 theatre season on Monday evening was anything to go by.
Busy artistic director of The Q in Queanbeyan, Jordan Best, has made life a little busier by casting herself in the double roles of Titania and Hippolyta in an upcoming revival of her outdoor A Midsummer Night’s Dream, writes HELEN MUSA.
Cementing its reputation as one of the go-to places for play watching, ACT Hub announced its fifth annual season at a celebratory event at the Old Causeway Hall in Kingston on Thursday.
Theatre
Playing God isn’t always easy
"The play God takes on an intriguing courtroom form as it pulls the audience into considering the ethics of assisted dying," writes reviewer ALANNA MACLEAN.
Theatre
Comedy, chaos, blasphemy… terrible Tyrone’s back
“This show is equal parts comedy, chaos, and blasphemy… The Exorcist meets Sesame Street, with more swearing. Perfect for December," says director Jarrad West, who is reviving the play Hand to God.
Theatre
Playwright Stoppard dies at the age of 88
Tom Stoppard has "died peacefully at home" at the age of 88, United Agents says.
As Canberra enters a new ethical frontier with the introduction of voluntary assisted dying on November 3, The Mill Theatre is staging German lawyer and writer Ferdinand von Schirach’s play GOD, reports arts editor HELEN MUSA.
"This play doesn’t give you much chance to settle in and feel comfortable. It tackles the desperate ingenuity of ordinary people facing rising prices and economic injustice." ARNE SJOSTEDT reviews Low Pay? Don’t Pay!
"The Almighty Sometimes is a long play (and perhaps could have used some pruning), but it’s an absorbing one," writes theatre reviewer ALANNA MACLEAN.
Greek Theatre Now has announced it will present Sophocles’ Oedipus the King in Canberra over the Easter long weekend in April, replacing the previously announced production of Euripides’ The Trojan Women.
The original English translation of Dario Fo’s most famous play Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! became so well known that its title entered the English language. But the upcoming production is using a newer translation titled Low Pay? Don’t Pay!
One of Canberra’s most-loved theatre personalities, Graham Robertson, has died at Clare Holland House after a short illness, surrounded by family. He was 94.
"Equus is a hell of a play. A boy inexplicably blinds six horses. A psychiatrist sets out to find out why," writes theatre reviewer ALANNA MACLEAN.
English actor Richard Griffiths once famously said of Peter Shaffer’s Equus: “It’s not a whodunnit. It’s a why-dunnit”. And it's playing at ACT Hub reports arts editor HELEN MUSA.
The 2025 Helen Tsongas Award for Excellence in Acting goes to a performer who began as one of Canberra’s best-known TV and radio presenters before turning to the stage in the early 2000s.
Canberra Repertory Society, about to step into its 94th year, has unveiled its 2026 season before subscribers, members and friends with everything from dangerous liaisons to an encounter with Dracula, reports HELEN MUSA.
For its debut production, director Lachlan Houen’s new company, Off the Ledge Theatre, has chosen Australian playwright Kendall Feaver’s work The Almighty Sometimes, reports art editor HELEN MUSA.
The 16th annual Come Alive Festival of Museum Theatre will light up the Joe Woodward Theatre at Daramalan College, showcasing original performances by, with and for ACT schools.
