It’s the inaugural season for Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) Artistic Director and Co-CEO Anne-Louise Sarks, marking a new artistic era for Victoria’s state theatre company.
The 2023 season features 12 works reflecting Anne-Louise’s vision of telling bold stories that change, challenge, influence and entertain.
The shows will showcase the best in Australian and international writing with five world premieres of new Australian work, a world-first staging of two plays in one evening, and three international works making their Australian premieres.
“The 2023 season offers new perspectives – through stories that haven’t been heard before and familiar stories told in new ways. We are boldly engaging in new conversations about theatre, and who we are, like never before,” Anne-Louise says.
“Creating rich and compelling theatre only comes when you have different voices challenging each other in a creative process. This new season marks so much more than a program of 12 exciting productions, we’re also taking a look at how we make theatre and who we have in the room.”
The season opens with ‘Sunday’ by Anthony Weigh, a fantasy inspired by the stories and myths surrounding Heide Museum of Modern Art founder Sunday Reed. It stars Nikki Shiels, Matt Day, and Ratidzo Mambo.
'Sunday' - Image © Jo Duck
Sheridan Harbridge reprises her award-winning role in ‘Prima Facie’ written by former lawyer Suzie Miller and directed by Lee Lewis – it’s a searing indictment of a legal system consistently failing women.
Anne-Louise Sarks reunites with Kate Mulvany for ‘Bernhardt/Hamlet’ by Theresa Rebeck. A comedy about a women ahead of her time, offering a timeless exploration of gender and equality.
Judith Lucy makes her Melbourne Theatre Company debut in ‘Happy Days’, directed by Petra Kalive. ‘Happy Days’ is an absurdist, tragicomic tour-de-force which is also a perfect commentary on our times.
Widely-acclaimed ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ from Zia Ahmed makes its Australian premiere directed by Tasnim Hossain. It stars Oz Malik and is a modern-day romance asking whether love really is all you need.
The dynamic, insightful, bold voice of playwright Declan Furber Gillick comes to MTC in ‘Jacky’ starring Guy Simon and Greg Stone. It’s a sharp, witty play about family, community and culture, and the personal cost of navigating it all in contemporary Australia.
‘Is God Is’ from Aleshea Harris makes its Australian premiere in a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company. . . Taking vengeance to levels that would make Green tragedians proud. It’s the winner of the Obie Award for Playwriting and the American Playwriting Foundation’s relentless award.
'Is God Is' – Image © Jo Duck
Tom Gleisner turns one of Australia’s most shameful recent failures – aged care – into a vision of hope and possibility in ‘Bloom’.
In a world first, Anne-Louise Sarks directs an evening of two short Caryl Churchill plays: ‘What If If Only’ starring Alison Bell, and ‘Escaped Alone’ starring Helen Morse. The two share deep thematic parallels and showcase the dazzling alchemy of Churchill’s writing.
Multi-award-winning writer Patricia Cornelius delivers a poetic, heart-rending tale in ‘My Sister Jill’ set against the backdrop of 1950s and ’60s suburban Melbourne, in the wake of the Second World War. Plus, Zahra Newman stars as Billie Holiday in ‘Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill’, and ‘A Very Jewish Christmas Carol’ closes the season with a clever twist on Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas morality tale, directed by Sarah Giles.
Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2023 season opens with ‘Sunday’ on 20 January.
