Black is the New White + The 39 Steps + Twelfth Night + The Longest Minute + Good Muslim Boy + Jasper Jones + Nearer the Gods + Hedda

Eight shows, six new Australian stories and four world premieres headline Queensland Theatre’s 2018 Season, unveiled by Artistic Director Sam Strong (pictured below). The plays traverse centuries of time, the breadth of our country, the expanse of the globe, and the inner workings of diverse and brilliant minds. 

The year opens on February 1 with the Queensland premiere of Black is the New White followed by The 39 Steps. In April Twelfth Night opens featuring a suite of new original songs by maestro Tim Finn. In May Queensland Theatre presents the world premiere of The Longest Minute, a story about football and family and one unforgettable NRL grand final. The award-winning story Good Muslim Boy takes on the monumental question of faith, before Strong’s multi-Helpmann-nominated and winning Jasper Jones opens in July. 

On October 6 the world premiere of  David Williamson’s Nearer the Gods will take place, with Matthew Backer, William McInnes and Rhys Muldoon.  To close Season 2018 Logie Award-winning actor Danielle Cormack will play Hedda  in Melissa Bubnic’s local version of the Henrik Ibsen classic. Cormack is joined on stage by Jimi Bani, Jason Klarwein, Joss McWilliamand Andrea Moor.

“Like all great theatre, the 2018 season transports us to places we wouldn’t otherwise encounter - or even imagine,” said Sam Strong, who will direct three of the eight mainstage plays.  “In the coming year, audiences can be at the centre of a food fight at the Christmas dinner from Hell, evade pursuers across the Scottish highlands, wrestle with a Kafkaesque bureaucracy in Iran, help solve a 1960s murder mystery in the Western Australian Wheatbelt, become entangled in a 17th Century scientific feud, or sing melancholy love songs to the exotic Duke of a mythical realm,” he said.  “In May, one of the most dramatic sporting moments of all time will form the springboard for a new play about football, family and faith and in November, Ibsen’s classic heroine Hedda Gabler will splash down poolside in a new version set on the Gold Coast.  

“All of this transportation will take place via the magic of theatre. And in 2018, our home venue will itself be the subject of a dramatic reveal. When it re-opens in August, the Bille Brown Studio will have been transformed – via a new stage, new seating and a new foyer – into the Bille Brown Theatre. The best thing about theatre is that the work is never finished. In 2018 we continue our exploration of what theatre does best. If somewhere extraordinary is the destination, the magic of theatre is the route.”

Strong said in 2018 audiences were set to experience: 

•  More Queensland exclusives, including David Williamson’s newest play, a new version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night with songs by Tim Finn, a new play about the 2015 NRL Grand Final, and a re-imagined version of Hedda Gabler set on the Gold Coast.

• More national reach through relationships with Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse and State Theatre Company of South Australia among others.

•  More leadership in equality, with gender parity of writers and directors for the second consecutive year – a continuation of the 2017 commitment; no all-male design teams; and Queensland Theatre working with more than a dozen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. 

•  More commitment to North Queensland and its stories with a play about the North Queensland Cowboys to premiere in Cairns and Townsville before coming to Brisbane.

•  More local stage stars including Jimi Bani, Liz Buchanan, Leon Cain, Jason Klarwein, Joss McWilliam Andrea Moor, Veronica Neave, Christen O’Leary Hugh Parker and Bryan Probets.

•  More national cast coming to Brisbane including Matthew Backer, Danielle Cormack, William McInnes, Rhys Muldoon, Osamah Sami, and Jessica Tovey. 

•  More of the most successful work from around the country, including sell out hits from Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company directed by Sam Strong and Paige Rattray.

•  More state-wide engagement through relationships with QPAC, debase production, JUTE Theatre Company and Dancenorth.

•  More new stories, with four world premieres and six new Australian stories (2/3 of the season). 

He said 2017 was already a flagship year. “In 2017 Queensland Theatre has set a 20 year record for season ticket holders, and an all-time record for single tickets. This year more people will see a Queensland Theatre show than ever before in the company’s 48 year history,” he said. “Not only that, but we have also played to more people around the country than ever before, with performances in venues as wide ranging as the historic 2000 seat Regent Theatre in Melbourne and an open air amphitheatre on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.”

In 2018 this reach and engagement continues - from youth ensembles in Brisbane and Logan, to curated writers groups, open masterclasses and artists in schools, Queensland Theatre will inspire and motivate tomorrow’s leaders and provide safe spaces for self-expression and story-telling.“Queensland Theatre will reach over 15,500 young people in 2018. The breadth, scale and innovation of our Education and Youth Programs leads the way for other state theatre companies,” said Strong.

“In 2018 we also continue our commitment to nurturing and empowering artists.  We will commission or produce five plays featuring Queensland stories and work with over 100 independent artists, supporting their development and sharing resources. It’s never been a more exciting time for theatre in Queensland and for this company.”

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE

6pm August 21 2017 at queenslandtheatre.com.au or by calling 1800 355 528. 

SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE

December 4 2017 at 9am at queenslandtheatre.com.au or by calling 1800 355 528

Season 2018

Black is the New White by Nakkiah Lui

1 – 17 February

A Sydney Theatre Company production

The 39 Steps

adapted by Patrick Barlow from the movie by Alfred Hitchcock and the novel by John Buchan

24 Feb – 24 March 

In association with State Theatre Company South Australia

Twelfth Night

by William Shakespeare

In association with Queensland Performing Arts Centre

28 Apr – 19 May

The Longest Minute

written by Robert Kronk and Nadine McDonald-Dowd 

26 May – 23 June

Co-production with debase productions and JUTE Theatre Company, co-presented in Townsville with Dancenorth

Good Muslim Boy

by Osamah Sami, adapted for the stage by Osamah Sami and Janice Muller

12 July – 28 July

Co-production with Malthouse Theatre

Jasper Jones

Based on the novel by Craig Silvey. Adapted by Kate Mulvany

28 July – 18 August

A restaging of the Melbourne Theatre Company production

Nearer The Gods

by David Williamson

6 October – 3 November

Hedda

A re-imagining of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler by Melissa Bubnic

10 November – 8 December