Judging by the announced theatrical seasons, 2024 is looking pretty stacked with shows that have got me excited. I’ve done a bit of a dive into the seasons for Sydney Theatre Co., Belvoir, Ensemble, Griffin, Opera Australia, Hayes, Seymour Center, New Theatre and more to make some plans. Here are my totally unsoliticted thoughts…
THREE MAIN TAKEAWAYS
1. THE COST OF LIVING ‘CRISIS’ / ‘DOUBLE’ THE INHERITANCE
How did we end up with two, independent productions of both Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Cost of Living, and Matthew Lopez’s Oliver & Tony Award winning play, The Inheritance playing the East Coast capitals?
The dual Cost of Living productions start with the STC/Queensland Theatre co-production starring Philip Quast, directed by Priscilla Jackman and Dan Daw, quickly followed by a separate production at MTC directed by Anthea Williams.
Meanwhile Melbourne kicks off the double hit of The Inheritance (which is a two-play epic) at Fortyfive Downstairs in January, before a different production comes to Sydney’s Seymour Centre in November.
Of course, this is a gem for all the theatre geeks – the chance to compare and contrast two acclaimed works interpreted by two different teams. My suggestion? See both!
2. THE YEAR OF JOANNA MURRAY-SMITH & SUZIE MILLER
Murray-Smith can sit back and cash the royalty cheques with three plays in circulation this year. There’s the return of the Julia Gillard hagiography Julia (at STC and touring), plus Ensemble are staging a revival of Switzerland and premiering her new adaptation of Uncle Vanya.
Meanwhile, Suzie Miller also joins the triple-show club with returning productions of RBG: Of Many One (STC) and Jailbaby (Griffin), and a new production of her earlier play Sunset Strip (New Theatre). Frankly, this is no bad thing in my book!
3. IF IT AIN’T BROKE…
At a rough count we have FOURTEEN productions coming back for more. There’s Julia and No Pay, No Way at STC. Suzie Miller’s RBG: Of Many One (STC) and Jailbaby (Griffin). Griffin’s Golden Blood gets a bigger run at STC (before touring). Belvoir are giving Counting & Cracking a well deserved victory lap, this time at Carriageworks, plus promoting Never Closer to the upstairs theatre. Outhouse Theatre’s brilliant Ulster American is having its third Sydney run, this time at Ensemble Theatre, and Darlinghurst Theatre Co are re-running Overflow. Plus there’s the commercial production of Chicago: The Musical (that staging is stuck in time),Handa Opera’s West Side Story from 2019 and Hamilton & The Rocky Horror Show both returning.
Okay let’s start breaking things down a little more…
NEW WORK
New plays are obviously impossible to pre-judge. You can make a rough guess based on the playwright, but if you’re a theatre nerd (and you’re taking the time to read this, so I assume you are) it’s the thrill of discovery that gets your bum into the stalls. With Griffin shutting the stables door while they get a big upgrade, there’s a bit of a gap in new work in 2024 compared to normal too so I suggest we all stretch out and see more elsewhere as well.
Melanie Tait’s new play, The Queen’s Nanny (Ensemble), has the potential to be either comfort food for the oldies or tap into some big emotions & topics. Swim (Griffin), the theatrical debut from poet Ellen van Neerven, feels topical and full of potential. STC have scheduled another queer comedy for Mardi Gras season, Van Badham’s A Fool in Love (after La dama boba by Lope de Vega) which should be good for a socially-minded giggle.
Plus we have the already mentioned, award-Hoovering, two-part The Inheritance which will be the big LGBTQ+ piece of the year (Belvoir’s Holding The Man and Opera Australia’s Watershed: The Death of Doctor Duncan are high on my must-see list). Though famously it was a massive hit in London, less so on Broadway, so I’ll be curious to see how Australian audiences react to it. At nearly 7hrs long, across both plays, I’m just going to suggest you bring a nice cushion to the theatre with you. Spoilers: I’ve seen The Inheritance six times and adore it.
The brilliant Sam Mendez directed production of The Lehman Trilogy comes to Australia (believe the hype – it’s as good as they say). Outhouse Theatre Co are back at Seymour Centre with a new show, Samuel D. Hunter’s A Case for the Existence of God, which won the 2022 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award. Their work has been impeccable for years now so this one is a “book right away” choice for me.
New Theatre have a number modern classics in their season. From James Graham’s Rupert Murdoch play, Ink, Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen, and Jordan Seavey’s Homos, Or Everyone in America (which I’ve wanted to see for a while). And I wouldn’t call this one a “classic” but the stage version of Shakespeare In Love boasts Lee Hall adapting Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard’s screenplay – surely that’s just theatrical comfort food.
I was really impressed with Sam O’Sullivan’s Boxing Day BBQ last year, one of those plays I knew nothing about but gripped me in a way I wasn’t expecting. So I’m keen to see what his new play, McGuffin Park (Ensemble) has in store for us.
Hayes has doubled down on the new writing this year, and I really hope it pays off. TikTok sensation Ride The Cyclone could be catchy fun or drive anyone over the age of 16 insane. The combination of Griffin and Hayes in the mix of Flat Earthers gives me faith there’s more to this one than meets the eye.
Hayes also has a World Premiere from Laura Murphy (The Lovers, The Dismissal) in Zombie: The Musical. That makes three new shows produced in just two years for Murphy (if I’m counting correctly). That is a ridiculous pace for a musical theatre songwriter and I’ll be frank, as much as I loved both The Lovers and The Dismissal, the music varied from ear-worm to forgettable filler. Neither took up much space in my mental play-list, so I just hope that the zombie of the title isn’t Murphy herself after being worked to death.
RETURN OF THE KINGS/QUEENS
Each year seems to give us the return of some notable name to the stage, and this year we’ve got plenty. Hugo Weaving, Kerry Armstrong and Colin Friels are back at STC. Sarah Brightman coming to Aus for Sunset Boulevard will be a major event. David Williamson has un-retired to bring us a new play, The Great Divide (Ensemble), plus he’s got a comedy in South Australia, The Puzzle. Griffin is serving a triptych of Louis Nowra’s. And we have short run cabarets from Todd McKenny (Ensemble) and Carlotta (Hayes).
SYDNEY FESTIVAL
Sydney Festival proves to be a great time to push the boat out a bit and see things beyond your usual tastes. This year we’ve got Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed’s Are we not drawn onward to new erA. Climate change plays are usually, sadly, a bit crap but this could be very interesting. National Theatre of Parramatta & the Javaad Alipoor Company’s Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World returns after a 2022 preview run, a bit of post-modern look at our obsession with true crime.
THE SHOWS THAT REALLY INTEREST ME…
There are a few shows that have piqued my interest above the rest.
There are some modern classics getting a welcome new production. Holding The Man, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and August: Osage County at Belvoir and Masterclass (not to be confused with a different Masterclass at Sydney Festival) and Colder Than Here (Laura Wade’s Posh is favourite of mine so I’m glad to get a chance to see her earlier work) at Ensemble are all ticking boxes for me, as well as the already mentioned Switzerland and Cost of Living.
The two shows that have really got me intrigued are both happening at Sydney Theatre Co. There’s Zahra Newman in Dracula, the final part of Kip Williams’ gothic cine-theatre trilogy. This feels like a combination of great elements (great actress in an anti-intuitive role, mixed with genre busting tech) that could be real theatrical dynamite. And there’s a totally new staging of Dear Evan Hansen – which has the theatre nerd in me excited. The idea of a world-first reinvention of a modern show (plus the mechanics of a co-production between STC and commercial producer Michael Cassel) has my expectations set high – which may be its undoing I guess. I guess that makes up for them programming Lynn Nottage’s Sweat, which won the Pulitzer, but I found it predictable and one-note when I saw it in London – maybe this time it’ll win me over? I had a similarly neutral reaction to Constellations when I first saw it, and STC turned me around on that one.
And slightly left field, but I can’t wait to see what director Craig Baldwin does with an operatic version of Turn of the Screw at Hayes Theatre. His work with Outhouse Theatre Co has been outstanding, so this could be a sleeper-hit in the making.
WORTH PLANNING A WEEKEND AWAY?
As always, Melbourne is getting the prime cuts of the big musical theatre with Groundhog Day already announced and Beetlejuice coming in 2025 (but at least Sydney gets & Juliet in 2024). Tim Minchin’s Groundhog Day is one of my favourite new musicals of the last decade (I’ve seen it three times now), so that one is definitely worth a trip south.
Melbourne Theatre Company also has the debut of a new musical based on My Brilliant Career, plus the Australian Premiere of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, English by Sanaz Toossi. Queensland Theatre has a musical based on kids TV classic, Round The Twist, written by Paul Hodge. Brisbane’s La Boite has a revival of Patrick Marber’s brilliant Closer in the mix. While the State Theatre of SA has Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children, a new musical co-written by Van Badham called The Questions.
But the show that has me really fascinated is Malthouse’s adaptation of Under The Skin based on Michael Faber’s novel (and the 2013 A24 film version starring Scarlett Johansson). It’s a weird, sci-fi tale so bringing it to the stage will require big imaginations.
IN CONCLUSION…
There’s a wide variety of shows (and this isn’t even counting our smaller independent and fringe venues) coming our way which is more than enough to keep us busy, and our wallets potentially aching. Will they all be hits? Of course not, but 2023 was a damn good year so signs are positive. Like superannuation providers it’s important to stress that past performance isn’t necessarily an indicator of future results, but we live in hope.
Cultural Binge 
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