Western Australia’s Black Swan State Theatre Company will present a dynamic year of daring stories, fresh voices, and visionary collaborations for its 2026 season.
The 2026 programme reflects Black Swan’s commitment to delivering theatre which celebrates our diversity, and highlights the unique voices within it. It kicks off with ‘Meow Meow’s Red Shoes’, as the multi award-winning Meow Meow brings her unique brand of subversive, hypnotising storytelling to the stage. . . From fauns, to swans, to dazzling showgirls – it’s a riotous journey journey of music, movement and meaning.
“Sensuously articulate and creatively comic, Meow Meow has the unique ability to seduce your brain while she reinvigorates your soul, turning tears of laughter into tender recognitions,” Artistic Director Kate Champion says.
Next, and back by popular demand, is Australian legend Heather Mitchell as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in ‘RBG: Of Many, One’. It’s written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Suzie Miller, directed by Priscilla Jackman and produced by Sydney Theatre Company.
“If our record-breaking waiting list for tickets to ‘RBG’ in ‘24 was any indication, you will want to book early for this one,” Kate says. “Witness Heather Mitchell in a career highlight as she becomes Ruth Bader Ginsberg before your eyes. An amazing real life icon, a trailblazer like none before her. This is definitely a ‘don’t miss’ production!”
The powerful reimagining of Tim Winton’s ‘The Shepherd’s Hut’ follows. It sees 15-year-old Jaxie Clackton fleeing across WA’s salt lands, where instead of freedom, he finds a disgraced priest exiled to a crumbling hut: “Quintessentially West Australian, Tim Winton’s writing has no comparison in its ability to capture how our human nature is inextricably linked to the landscape we inhabit. ‘The Shepherd’s Hut’, cleverly adapted by Tim McGarry, takes us into the probing isolation of nature in search of personal redemption and release,” Kate says.
In ‘The Almighty Sometimes’, the question ‘who decides where care stops and control begins’ is explored. It’s a gripping portrait of a mother and daughter wrestling with love, risk, and identity.
“‘The Almighty Sometimes’ is the deeply affecting early play by Australian author Kendall Fever,” Kate says of the production. “Such an impressive debut, this play captures the heart-wrenching dilemma of any parent who has had to learn to let their offspring finally steer their own course alongside the experience of a young adult who needs to rebel in order to test their own boundaries – even at the expense of heartbreak and damage. Did I mention it’s also funny?”
Moving along, from the pen of well-known West Australian writer and artist Will O’Mahony comes the world premiere of ‘Day (After Day) In The Life Of The Useless’. Exploring AI, it’s a freefall of outrageous encounters, comic disasters, and spectacularly bad luck: “An artist long associated to Black Swan and fondly familiar to its audiences, Will O’Mahony’s brand new play ‘Day (After Day) In The Life of Useless’ is a deftly woven, giddy portrayal of a character who, with best intentions to rise above, descends ever lower into own goals and unfortunate circumstances. New writing, locally generated, bold, exciting and original.”
Associate Artistic Director Naomi Pigram-Mitchell will lead a stellar cast of Broome musicians, vocalists, dancers and performers in a concert paying homage to the legendary artists who came before: ‘Raised In Big Spirit Country’.
“‘Raised In Big Spirit Country’ is a co-production which we are extremely proud of,” Kate describes. “It harks back to Black Swan’s foundation as one of the first major theatre companies to champion original Aboriginal plays and musicals. Naomi Pigram-Mitchell has nurtured this production into life where its Perth debut was a sold-out hit. It is now returning to its roots in Broome where it will continue to develop and evolve its magical mix of song and story-telling.”
Rounding out the year will be ‘Jacky’, a biting new play about family, work, culture and the compromises we make to survive. It brings together Black Swan and Yirra Yaakin for a production as confronting as it is hilarious. Then, to conclude the year, is the ever-popular ‘The Pool’, making a splash in regional WA including Port Hedland, Karratha, Newman and Wagin, before a return season at a new aquatic centre in Perth.
“2026 is a vibrant mix of powerhouse performances, uncompromising original commissions, lauded emerging voices and inspiring collaborations,” Artistic Director Kate Champion says.
Tickets are on sale 14 October.
Black Swan State Theatre Company’s 2026 season kicks off with ‘Meow Meow’s Red Shoes’.
