State Theatre Company Adelaide 2027 Season

State Theatre Company South Australia's 2027 season features eight plays, with six new Australian works anchoring the program including two company commissions, two from award-winning artists and two SPARK productions. The season opens in February with An Iliad, starring David Wenham, and continues with world premieres and classics including a return of Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll in April and a stage adaptation of Pip Williams' The Bookbinder of Jericho in September.

Lead Image: Squid. Photo of Luke Wiltshire by Claudio Raschella

Local stories take the spotlight in State Theatre Company South Australia’s 2027 season, with a strong focus on stories from Australian writers and most of those productions making their world premieres.

Performer in dark suit plays electric guitar on red-lit stage with brick wall backdrop.

Above: A Guide to Success in the Workplace. Photo of Taylor Nobes by Claudio Raschella

Announced on Wednesday September 30 at Her Majesty’s Theatre by State Theatre Company South Australia’s Artistic Director Petra Kalive, the season is an epic journey with stories that echo through time, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in bold new theatrical drama, comedy and reimagined classics featuring familiar faces and brilliant new talent.

Starting with a gripping retelling of one of the world’s oldest stories, the season also features a revisit of an Australian classic and world premiere book adaptation.

“Out of eight plays, six new Australian works anchor this season: two State Theatre Company commissions, two brilliant new works from award-winning artists and two exciting SPARK productions,” Artistic Director Petra Kalive says.

Two women stand against a green background, one holding a pink lotus flower artwork.

Above: Artistic Director Petra Kalive and Executive Director Kath Fyffe

“There were new international works and classics in our early conversations, but as the season took shape, we kept choosing the stories that spoke most profoundly to the world we’re living in now - and they turned out to be mostly written by Australians. That tells you something about the state of Australian writing, and I find it thrilling. These are Australian stories - and stories that echo through time.

“Many of the plays in the season use the classics or history to help us understand the world we live in now. They are multifaceted, complex and sometimes contradictory, and that’s exactly what this season celebrates.”

Actor in pale shirt stands centre stage with illuminated golden sphere backdrop and second performer visible behind.

Above: An Iliad. Photo of David Wenham by Daniel Boud

In season opener An Iliad, Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s acclaimed and dynamic adaptation transforms Homer’s Ancient Greek saga of heroes, gods and battles into an urgent and personal exploration of difference, disagreement and the devastation of war. Starring iconic Australian film, television and theatre actor David Wenham with live music from Helen Svoboda, this is a rare opportunity to experience Wenham's magnetic performance up close.

In February, one of Australia’s most enthralling actors, Margaret J Harvey, returns to the stage for the first time in over 10 years with a powerful contemporary solo work, The Dark Matter of Usulal. Grounded in the living cosmologies of Saibai Island and exploring the body as a carrier of story, this celebration of femininity uses performance, sound, movement and digital imagery to honour the stories of those who came before.

In April, more than 10 years since it was last performed at the Company and more than 70 years since its premiere changed Australian theatre forever, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll comes to the Dunstan Playhouse under the direction of Petra Kalive. Starring Anna Lindner (The Importance of Being Earnest), Nathan Page (My Brilliant Career), Allycia Angeles (Kimberley Akimbo) and Kate Cheel (Commentary), this all-Adelaide production is set to remind audiences why Ray Lawler’s classic remains one of the country’s most enduring plays.

Actor lies prone on stage floor beneath blue digital rain projection during theatrical performance.

Above: The Dark Matter of Usulal. Photo of Margaret Harvey

Two performers embrace joyfully against a bright yellow background, their expressions animated and playful.

Above: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Photo of Anna Lindner and Nathan Page by Claudio Raschella

World premieres round out the remainder of the season, including Evil Hour by James Smith and Snappy by Michele Lee in July and August. Smith, best known for his work as an actor (The Dictionary of Lost Words, Jack Maggs and Euphoria), makes his State Theatre Company South Australia playwriting debut with Evil Hour, a gripping new Australian gothic drama inspired by South Australian history and women who have been forgotten.

In August, the Company partners with Griffin Theatre for the premiere of Snappy, Michele Lee’s sharp new tragi comedy and reimagining of Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House. A play about the mental load, motherhood, friends, strangers and keeping it all together, this is a bold new play from the winner of the 2025 Griffin Award.

Award-winning bestseller, The Bookbinder of Jericho, from bestselling South Australian author Pip Williams, then hits the stage in September in a world-first adaptation of the beloved novel. The co-production from State Theatre Company South Australia, Sydney Theatre Company and Arts Centre Melbourne has been adapted for the stage by South Australian playwright Verity Laughton, who brought the vivid world of the Ruby Award-winning The Dictionary of Lost Words to the stage for two sell-out seasons in Adelaide and nationally in 2024 and 2025. A companion piece to Williams’ international bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words, The Bookbinder of Jericho is set in 19th Century Oxford, this time from the viewpoint of Peggy, twin sister to Maude (played by new Adelaide talent Billie-Rose Russell). The work also stars Melissa Kahraman and Ksenja Logos (The Dictionary of Lost Words) under the direction of Shannon Rush.

The SPARK program returns to Adelaide College of the Arts with two South Australian plays Squid and A Guide to Success in the Workplace. In its second year, SPARK continues to be a space for fearless, unfiltered, electric theatre from local independent theatre makers.

A Guide to Success in the Workplace, a twisted ‘horror musical’ about toxic workplace culture from the mind of multidisciplinary performer Taylor Nobes, comes to the Main Theatre in July under the direction of Shannon Rush and starring local talents Luke Bria, Eddie Morrison, Adam Ovadia and Astrid Pill alongside Nobes.

In September, Luke Wiltshire (ABC’s Homebodies) brings his autobiographical story of transitioning, Squid, to the stage under the direction of Stephen Nicolazzo. A one-man play with warmth, humour and remarkable honesty, Squid transforms a profoundly personal story into a celebration of resilience and self-discovery.

Subscriptions to State Theatre Company South Australia’s 2027 season are now on sale at www.statetheatrecompany.com.au

Person in orange shirt surrounded by colourful paper banners and confetti against a vibrant pink backdrop.

Above: Snappy. Photo of Michele Lee by Claudio Raschella

Person seated in leather chair reading from open book, surrounded by floor stacks and tall bookshelves.

Above: The Bookbinder of Jericho. Photo of Billie-Rose Russell by Claudio Raschella

Actor in pale shirt and patterned headwrap seated against dark checked fabric backdrop.

Above: Evil Hour. Photo of Elizabeth Hay by Claudio Raschella