Melbourne’s 10 hottest theatre tickets for 2025

It’s always showtime somewhere in Melbourne, but this year promises a scene-stealing mix of new works and old, stage veterans and newbies, drama and laughter. Will Sigrid Thornton give the performance of the year? Will Eddie Perfect’s Beetlejuice raise the dead? And will Marina Prior wish she was 16 again? Here’s our selection of the most promising performances, infectious musical numbers and haunting theatrics to keep you glued to your seats … let the curtains lift …

MOTHER PLAY

As the novelist Tove Ditlevsen put it, childhood is long and narrow like a coffin, and you can’t get out of it on your own. Subtitled “a play in five evictions”, this three-hander spans almost half a century while still maintaining that particular sense of claustrophobia that can only come from family. Carl and Martha are siblings saddled with a firestorm of a mother who refuses to relinquish hopes of building a better life, but as they each grow in different directions across 40-something years, it becomes clear that some bonds would be better off broken. Fiercely funny and littered with memorable moments both tragic and profound, this is the kind of script actors relish, and Sigrid Thornton might well give one of the performances of the year. Southbank Theatre, June 30 to August 2; mtc.com.au

THE ORCHARD

Pony Cam are the hot ticket in Melbourne right now, building up such an enviable reputation among their peers that it seems they can do no wrong. They never repeat themselves, either, so it’s hard to know what to expect from this show at Malthouse Theatre. They’re taking Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard as their launching point, but just as the characters of that classic fret interminably over the fate of the ailing orchard they’ve inherited, so too will Pony Cam have to decide what of theatre’s history is worth preserving, and what deserves to be pruned. They’re promising to bring a chainsaw. Malthouse Theatre, August 5 to 16; malthousetheatre.com.au

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

Last year’s music theatre calendar often swung for the fences but didn’t always connect – a much-anticipated Sunset Boulevard left many underwhelmed, not least after star Sarah Brightman was unable to appear on stage for several weeks. Next year’s line-up is a safer affair, festooned with reliable bets of the Annie and Jesus Christ Superstar kind. One of the few musicals that doesn’t come with guardrails is a high-energy comedy with a hilarious black streak and a cast of characters hard not to love. Kimberly is 16 but has a condition that causes her to appear much older, giving no less than Marina Prior the chance to play a teen growing up in ’90s New Jersey. The show scooped a bunch of awards during its Broadway run, including Tonys for best musical, best book and best original score.
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne, July 26 to August 30; mtc.com.au

HADESTOWN

Another musical making its Melbourne debut takes the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and gives it a New Orleans makeover. The tunes are infectious from the get-go and are driven by the propulsive rhythm of Louisiana blues and other forms from the contemporary American playbook. The show has had a fascinating ascent from DIY project in small-town Vermont to selling out houses on Broadway, where it has enjoyed a five-year run with no signs of closing. A Tony for best musical and a Grammy for best musical theatre album are recommendation enough, and the show’s songs have been streamed more than most musicals can boast, but the presence of an on-stage brass band suggest this is one to catch live.
Her Majesty’s Theatre, from May. hadestown.com.au

BEETLEJUICE

Eddie Perfect brings his most successful (and ambitious) offering home after an interesting run in the States. Initial reviews from lofty critics were mixed, but the show nevertheless became a hit, especially with the Gen Z audiences who are traditionally the hardest to get into theatres. Some older showgoers complained that it was too fast, unpredictable and littered with curses – others came back for seconds for just those reasons. There’s no arguing that the show looks a million dollars, though, with gorgeous sets and costumes and no shortage of effects. Plus it’s a chance for local performers and creatives to have their turn with Perfect’s songs – much like Tim Minchin, Perfect’s Melbourne background often infuses his work with a particular irony that plays especially well here.
Regent Theatre, from May 7; beetlejuicethemusical.com.au

THE REMOVALISTS

Next year is especially rich when it comes to revived classics – Red Stitch is revisiting Joanna Murray-Smith’s early hit Honour 30 years after it made her name, while the always-exciting Bloomshed will make an uproarious meal out of Pride and Prejudice as part of Darebin Arts’ Speakeasy program. The most intriguing revival might also be the most unexpected. It’s been a long while since anyone thought of David Williamson as cutting-edge, but it’s also been a long time since his breakout play, The Removalists, received so much attention. I wasn’t alive when the play opened at La Mama in 1971, but reading it today is a kick in the teeth. Its bleak vision of violent masculinity and a corrupt policing system is brutal and uncompromising, and we can only wonder what MTC artistic director Anne-Louise Sarks will do with the play in a contemporary context. Dig out your smelling salts.
Southbank Theatre, March 11 to April 17.

POTUS OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE

The title alone is a headline-grabber, but this US comedy has earned enough of a critical reputation to merit further investigation. It centres on seven women attempting to manage a White House crisis after the president does something worthy of cancellation. The farce that plays out is definitely not of the drawing room variety – perhaps it’s a measure of US politics today that invented absurdities have to go so much further to outdo reality. The show is also a chance for an all-female cast to sink their teeth into a full-throttle comedy that goes for big laughs, and the company behind this production, Lightning Jar Theatre, has previously proven its chops with the likes of Mr Burns, a Post Electric Play, while director Marni Mount had an unqualified success with the much-loved Trophy Boys.
Fortyfivedownstairs, February 13 to March 2; fortyfivedownstairs.com.au

THE BIRDS

Daphne du Maurier’s having a big year in Melbourne, with two adaptations playing our main stages. Both have been highly shaped in the public imagination by the Hitchcock films they inspired, and so each production will have to find its own way to escape that long shadow. MTC’s Rebecca has more to work with, given its origins as a full-length novel, whereas The Birds began its life as a short story, meaning Malthouse Theatre has both more space to fill and more room to move. Here director Matt Lutton has reimagined the enigmatic tale of nature rising up against a small town by giving the stage to a lone actor, accompanied by a rich soundscape experienced by way of individual headsets. This might be one of those productions that allows audience members’ imaginations to do much of the work, which is especially effective at creating a sense of suspense and terror.
Malthouse Theatre, May 16 to June 7; malthousetheatre.com.au

JOB

The little company that could has a strong year coming up, including this promising thriller set in the world of Big Tech. Jane has been suspended from work after a video of her went viral. Now her fate is in the hands of the therapist whose career ambitions are just as cut-throat. It’s been described as one of those two-handers in which the balance of power reverses at every turn, ratcheting up the tension by the minute. It’s the kind of outing Red Stitch has traditionally excelled at, so expectations are high for this one.
Red Stitch, September 13 to October 12; redstitch.net

MILESTONE

It might be pushing things to call this theatre, but William Yang’s storytelling performances are always riveting glimpses into the history of Australian culture as it has shifted over the decades. He typically combines his recollections and observations with projected versions of the countless photographs he has taken in a long and storied career of visual documentation; this time around, to mark his 80th year, his delivery will be accompanied by a live score composed by friend Elena Kats-Chernin and performed by the MSO. The show is a highlight of Asia TOPA, the triennial that was cut short by that thing that happened in 2020.
Hamer Hall, February 20; asiatopa.com.au

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