Summer nights are set to sizzle once again at Perth hotspot, The Blue Room Theatre, when the annual festival kicks off.
The Blue Room Theatre's Communications & Marketing Coordinator Mohammed 'Ayo Busari' says this year’s showstopping Summer Nights festival line-up is expected to be as “big and exciting as ever” with plenty of innovative West Australian works as well as visiting interstate talent presenting works that range from comedy, drama, dance and much more. “We have a great variety of local, national and international artists coming to Summer Nights in 2026,” he says.
The festival gets off to a sizzling start with the 2026 Housewarming Opening Party, where guests will settle in for spinning decks, heart-wrenching karaoke, cheeky games, and much, much more.
Among the many other highlights of this year’s iteration of Summer Nights is 'Recess Duty', which is described as a comedic love letter from one primary school teacher to another, capturing the messy, hilarious and at times heartbreaking realities of school life. “I think 'Recess Duty' will be very appealing to parents and teachers,” Ayo says. “It’s something very new that the Blue Room Theatre has never seen before.”
Other festival highlights include 'Red Hare’s Wish', a musical retelling of the classic Chinese novel 'Romance Of The Three Kingdoms', queer outback comedy 'SMOKO', and 'Making Of A Man' – a solo lecture performance by Quindell Orton that blends dance, video, spoken word and live cameras to unpack how bodies 'do' masculinity.
Meanwhile, Noah Skape makes his debut solo festival show with 'Human Entertainment' at Summer Nights which is described as a kaleidoscope of heightened characters, manic skits and musical numbers that ricochet from laugh-out-loud chaos to unexpectedly human truths.
After wowing audiences and critics at the Old Fitz Theatre in New South Wales, critically acclaimed play 'Sitting, Screaming' is finally making its West Australian premiere as part of Summer Nights. Directed by Lucy Clements and written by Madelaine Nunn, 'Sitting, Screaming' follows the tumultuous life of Sam, a Year 12 student who discovers her father has cancer. She’s unable to open up until she’s in Mr David’s office at school and she can finally unleash.
Making its world premiere at this year’s Summer Nights is the highly-anticipated play, 'The Chair Of Saint Peter (& Other Games)'. Written and directed by Sanna Ansaldo, the play which stars Olivia Taliangis, Lachlan Ives, Ben Canute and Shelby Foster reimagines the Papal conclave as a contest of faith and folly and blends spectacle, satire and comedy.
Ayo says what sets Summer Nights apart from other festivals in Perth is its close-knit relationships with the artists involved.
“Summer Nights is one of those festivals that really walks hand-in-hand with the artists,” Ayo says. He hopes West Australians take advantage of the incredible local, national and international works that will be at Perth’s very doorstep at this time, and to take a chance on seeing something different that will entertain and inspire.
Summer Nights is running at The Blue Room Theatre (Perth) from 21 January-7 February.
