Cirrus@Austlit

'It is a truth universally acknowledged that Pride & Prejudice is one of the greatest romance stories ever written. In the 250th year after her birth, Jane Austen’s timeless tale leaps to the stage in a vibrant retelling with a luminous all-Queensland cast.

'Smart, witty and fearless, Elizabeth Bennet is an independent young woman who dearly loves a laugh and is not afraid to poke fun where fun is most definitely warranted. At odds with her husband-hunting sisters and dithery mother, Elizabeth longs for the power to determine her own marital fate.

'Amidst the glittering swirl of regency balls, gossip and the hypocrisy of 19th century England, Elizabeth encounters the arrogant, aloof, but infuriatingly eligible Mr Darcy. The two are more alike than they care to admit. Mindful? Yes. Demure? Debatable. A perfect match? Most ardently!'

Source: Production blurb.

'The fall of a dictator and the reverberations on the generation he jeopardised.

'1986, Manila, the Philippines. The world finally looks on as history is being made by a society tearing at the fabric of a regime and demanding change.

'On the fateful evening of President Ferdinand Marcos’ exile, young men climb the walls of Malacañang Palace, storm the hallways, and seat themselves on his throne. Among them are brothers Martin and Ernie — heroes... if only for a night.

'Nearly 40 years later, the siblings reunite in Brisbane, where Martin’s teenage son Leo is incensed that the dictator’s heir is being elected to the presidency of the Philippines. With a fresh revolution and some old family secrets in the air, the three men will reconnect over the conditions of love, the question of duty and the price of rebellion.

'In a watershed moment for Australian Filipino theatre, Jordan Shea’s Queensland Premier’s Drama Award-winning play draws on his multicultural experiences in an ambitious and haunting theatrical epic that celebrates the power of ordinary people to (re)discover their bravery and help shape history.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Priya and Nades left war-torn Sri Lanka and found each other in regional Queensland. They married, had two daughters, worked hard and settled into a simple but happy country life.

'The community welcomed them with open arms — but four years later came a knock at the door and they were ripped away in a dawn raid.

'Their story could have ended there, but a brave band of Biloela women weren’t giving up on them so easily.

'Fighting alongside the young refugee family, they launched a grassroots, people-powered campaign that galvanised hundreds of thousands of ordinary Australians to demand the family be brought back to Bilo. This is the remarkable true account of one family’s ordeal in the nightmare limbo of immigration detention, a story of how love is stronger than fear and of how persistence and togetherness can win against crushing odds.

'Back to Bilo is a profoundly moving new play from celebrated local company Belloo Creative (Boy, Lost) and is made with — and from — the heart of regional Queensland.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Author, editor and proud Kaurareg, Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man Thomas Mayo invited 12 Indigenous men to write a letter to their son, father or nephew in a gentle and honest compendium of love and reflection.

'The celebration of First Nations manhood featured letters from Stan Grant, Troy Cassar-Daley, Johnny Liddle, Charlie King, Joe Williams, Yessie Mosby, Joel Bayliss, Daniel James, Jack Latimore, Daniel Morrison, Tim Sculthorpe and Blak Douglas.

'In 2025, renowned First Nations theatre makers Isaac Drandic (37, Dear Brother) and John Harvey (Spear, Black Ties) adapt these deeply personal letters into a powerful world premiere, alongside leading First Nations actors Jimi Bani (Othello, My Name Is Jimi) and Trevor Jamieson (The Secret River, Storm Boy).

'Through story and music, Dear Son honours the rich traditions and wisdoms of fathers passed down through generations, interrogating the challenges faced by First Nations men and honouring the importance of family, the power of culture and the enduring strength of the human spirit.'

Source: Production blurb.

'The home-grown TV show that raised a generation* is back with all the magic you remember (and that song you can’t forget!) in a brand-new Australian musical by Paul Hodge based on the seminal stories of much-loved children’s book author Paul Jennings.

'In an old lighthouse, single dad Tony Twist and his kids Pete, Linda and Bronson are about to embark on a magical adventure to unravel a 200 year old mystery and protect their home from the greedy Gribble family who want to turn their piece of paradise into an Aqua-World-Casino-Burger-Joint-Amusement-Park.

'With the help of a haunted outhouse, a crystal ball, some friendly ghosts and smelly feet (up the pong!), this family might just have what it takes to save the day!

'Whether you’re new to the Twists or a diehard fan (withoutmypants), this big-hearted musical filled with soaring song and jaw-dropping design is for everyone.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Young men from different corners of Queensland blow into the big smoke burning with unbridled energy, desire and confusion. Each of them filled with the need to escape, to make something of their lives, to defy the hand that life has dealt them. An individual ignition has driven them all to Brisbane but something else — something ancestral — will bring them together.

'Caught between adolescence and adulthood, these young fellas will converge and wrestle with themselves, each other, their ghosts and a deep-etched sense of duty to Country. Together they’ll lay themselves bare and bond as brothers over what it means to be a young Aboriginal man in 2024.

'This high energy work, presented with BlakDance as part of Brisbane Festival, is all about giving today’s young Murri men a voice, one that challenges the narrative around public perceptions of Aboriginal masculinity.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Juno_XO and their family are the dominant content creators of their time, working tirelessly to bring you premium content as the world outside slows down, the oceans rise and dust fills the air. As individuals, they’re groundbreaking. As a family, they’re an empire. And they’re well on their way to having all the Points they’ll ever need.

'But when a filming stunt pushes Juno to the limit, the family fractures and the brand is thrown into jeopardy. Each family member navigates their own path through cancellation, rebranding, apologies and public relations crises. And for Juno, it might be the second chance at an honest, private life they never thought they needed.

'A family attempts to salvage their legacy, the world outside scrambles for the Points they need to live the life they want, and in the shadows, whispers emerge of a long-gone heroine who will return to those that worship her…'  (Production summary)

'Drizzle Boy is autistic. Drizzle Boy is poked, prodded and diagnosed by a world that wants to change him and a family who doesn’t understand him. Then he meets Juliet — his very own star-crossed love. Could she be a safe space for a man who just wants a calm centre to his universe?

'Join Drizzle Boy as he takes back his story from a world of misunderstandings with irreverence and audacity. It’s a biting satire blending magical realism with a Kafkaesque journey of self-discovery. If you are neurotypical then you’re about to take a theatrical cold shower in the world of neurodiversity.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'Joan needs her father. She hasn't seen him since he left her and her Mum when she was just a little girl. She wants answers. she wants history, she wants to know more about who she is. She travels a long way into country as remote as it is strange to this city girl. She finds Mick; a man who doesn't speak much, and who bears little resemblance to the man who taught her to play Scrabble all those years ago.

'But amid the flies, the heat, the dust and the stillness of this small river town, lurk many ghosts and mysteries. Over cups of tea and Scrabble in Mick's weather-beaten old house, Joan is about to discover some family secrets that have been hidden below the surface for decades.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'Afghanistan 2011. Our Australian soldiers. A war no-one wins.

'Welcome to the remote Combat Outpost Mirage, home to eight Aussie Diggers mired in our longest war. From this tiny fortification overlooking a beautiful valley in the forbidding mountains of Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, Captain Trent Kelly and his men have a lot to deal with. When they aren't mentoring a platoon from the Afghan National Army, they're patrolling for Taliban insurgents, negotiating with a powerful local warlord, or simply making it through another day a long way from home.

'Written by a serving soldier and veteran of Iraq and afghanistan, First Casualty is a debut play like no other. It's an authentic account of the real lives of Australian troops at war—the triumphs and the tragedies, the strains and the sacrifices, the pressure and the release. There's tension, occasional explosions of violence, and humou, but at its heart First Casualty is about the friendship of the soldiers who have given up so much for their country.

'This is not an anti-war story. This is not a pro-war story. This is a story of soldiers—the sons, the husbands, the fathers, the people we love.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'In a year spent tending to the dead, a young man learns to live.

'Steve never imagined he’d end up working in the funeral industry. But when he finds himself living back home in Toowoomba to save up for his wedding, it’s the only job he can get.

'The year he spends working among the dead opens his eyes to what awaits us at the end and what it means to live.

'With respect, wit and a nod to pop-culture, Steve takes us on a journey that celebrates finding your place in the world, the power of personal redemption and humility in the face of the big questions.

'It’s a refreshing, honest and surprisingly uplifting invitation to start the conversations we all try to avoid.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'The Government has given us eternal youth, and we should be eternally grateful.

'In the not too distant future, coming-of-age is a little different. Thanks to a fantastic scientific discovery, wisdom no longer comes with age. Wisdom now comes with a strict pharmaceutical regimen, and it’s all government mandated.

'But an idyllic, strictly regulated existence free of the shackles of aging isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When side effects start to spread and citizens become aware of the lengths the state will go to maintain order, the only answer is revolution.' (Production summary)

'A celebrated federal judge.

'His son, a born-again Christian.

'His daughter, a Border Force officer.

'Her partner, the captain of a Border Force ship.

'His other daughter, a left-wing activist.

'His wife, who has worked all her life to keep the family together.

'Saba, an asylum seeker on the run from Nauru.

'On the eve of his birthday, is it too much to expect his wife and three children celebrate with him?'

Source: Griffin Theatre Company.

'It’s the not-too-distant future, and with a defiant cry of QUEENSLANDER!, we’ve broken away. Again.

'First Lady Phaedra and President Theseus are building a mighty wall along Queensland's southern border to keep the 'filthy' Newies from our gates. When Theseus takes off with the triumphant Broncos on a moraleboosting tour, Phaedra is left alone to run the country and look after Theseus' teenage son, Hip, newly arrived from boarding school.

'Hip's arrival stirs something in Phaedra she never expected and when Hip's mother shows up on the doorstep, too … well you know what they say about Queensland. Beautiful one day, tragic the next.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'Eli Bell’s childhood in the outer Brisbane suburbs is far from the idyllic 1980s haze some kids would remember. His alcoholic dad has shot through, his ex-druggie mum is in jail, his stepfather’s dealing heroin, his brother Gus is a mute who swirls cryptic messages in the air with his finger, and his babysitter Slim is a convicted killer and infamous escapee from Boggo Road Gaol.

'Beset by chaos on all sides, a run-in with the local crime king and his henchman sets the 13 year old with the old soul on a journey to find out what kind of a man he is going to be.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Holidays are on holiday: 12-year-old Oliver has been pulled out of school for an unexpected road trip with his mum and dad, en route to grandad’s seaside shack. But grandad, an eccentric artist, is not there. In this unkempt place stuffed with memories, it seems that the Holidays - instead of getting away from it all - have taken a lot with them.'

Source: Queensland Theatre Company.

'Scotty has it all: a multimillion-dollar loft in downtown Manhattan, a high-flying Wall Street job, and he’s about to marry the perfect fiancée, who also happens to be loaded. But when he meets trans performance artist Dexie, he discovers he wants something more. A friend? A confidante? A lover?

'When the secret of their affair gets out, it’s sure to shock not only his dudebro Jase, his highly-strung mother Deb, and his lesbian activist sister Claire, but also a theatre audience strapped in for the ride of their lives.

'From the wickedly funny pen of Australian-born, New York-based playwright, comedienne and performer Glace Chase, this play is an hilarious, honest and emotionally affecting look at entitlement, hypocrisy, and the realities of love.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On board flight 404 a photojournalist settles in for another normal journey, but when their fellow passengers start seeming a little too familiar they’re forced to confront the subjects from all the photos they’ve shot across the years.

'Faced with a career’s worth of documented trauma, conflict, hardship, and grief the photojournalist, stuck in a tin can thirty thousand feet in the air, is forced to question the ethics of bringing about change one photo at a time.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Tasmania, now.

'Boyd’s got enough on his plate between keeping a young family together and his responsibilities to land and people.

'But something’s happening. Every year more and more folk are claiming to be Palawa too. Folk no-one’s heard of until now, who haven’t been ‘round before. Are they legit? Or are they ‘tick-a-box’? Who decides? And how?

'If Boyd’s going to take everyone forward, they’re all going to have to go back, old mob or new, into the island’s knotty past. And they might not like what they find there.'

Source: Belvoir Street Theatre.

'Appleton is a small country town being forced into the present with a recent influx of wealthy city slickers, treechangers and refugees. Simmering tensions come to a head when new GP Penny Anderson discovers that the famous Appleton Potato Race awards $1000 prize money for the men, and a measly $200 for the women. When Penny decides to take steps to restore gender parity and coax Appleton into the 21st century, little could she have anticipated the spiralling, hilarious culture war that would follow.'

Source: Ensemble Theatre.