Musicals and Live Theatre Shows Gracing Brisbane Stages in 2024

There’s plenty of theatre happening in Brisbane in 2024. From toe-tapping musicals to gripping plays, here – in chronological order – are our picks of the best live theatre shows gracing Queensland stages in 2024.

GRIMM

Happily, ever after? Never. Shake & Stir Theatre Co have reimagined classic fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm – Snow White, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood – in a chilling new play. Adapted by Nelle Lee, directed by Dan Evans, and featuring costumes by the iconic Paul McCann, GRIMM offers a lavish and unforgettable night of theatre filled with bewitching experiences that might just give you nightmares. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

GRIMM runs from August 31 to October 6 at Cremorne Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are available online.

Wicked

You might already be familiar with Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, but the musical goes back even further, telling the story of Elphaba (the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda the Good Witch – their rivalry, friendship and how they changed each other for good. Queensland-born Courtney Monsma (2012’s Dorothy) plays Glinda, the bubbly popular girl who goes on to become the famous “good witch”, while Sheridan Adams (Tick, Tick… Boom!, Cruel Intentions) plays the emerald-green Elphaba, who, as the hue of her skin would suggest, goes onto becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Wicked comes to Brisbane after successful seasons at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, where the local season kicked off late last year, and Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.

Wicked is running from September 12 until November 17 at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC. Tickets are available online.

Yoga Play

Delving into themes of cultural appropriation, consumerism, and identity within the world of yoga and athleisure, Yoga Play is sharp comedy written by US-based playwright Dipika Guha. Directed by Mina Morita, this play follows Joan, the new CEO of a yoga apparel company who is tasked with deploying a bold and risky strategy to rescue the business from scandal and plummeting sales.

Yoga Play runs from November 7 to November 23 at La Boite Theatre. Tickets are available online

Round The Twist

Have you ever, ever felt like this? Every ’90s Aussie kid’s favourite TV show has been given the musical treatment by Paul Hodge. Set in an old lighthouse (of course), the story follows single dad Tony Twist and his children, Pete, Linda and Bronson, as they unravel a century-old mystery while fending off the Gribble family's scheme to turn their home into an Aqua-World-Casino-Pizza-Parlour-Burger-Joint-Amusement-Park. This big-hearted musical celebrates oddballs and misfits in a quintessentially Australian fashion.

Round The Twist runs from November 12 to December 1 at Playhouse Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are available online.

Six the Musical

Six the Musical retells history – or rather herstory – giving the lives and deaths of Henry VIII’s six wives a pop-pink twist. Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, this award-winning musical has cast six new queens for its latest Australian production. Running through each wife’s relationship to the monarch, this boppy stage show has a run time of 80 minutes, with each wife taking turns to narrate their triumphs and troubles. Whether you’re a history buff or a fan of pop music, this musical has something for you.

Six the Musical runs from January 2 to February 9, 2025 at Playhouse Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are available online.

Grease

The leather jackets are on and the engines are roaring – time to escape the Perth winter with Danny and Sandy’s tales of summer loving. Young Australian stars Joseph Spanti (Danny) and Annelise Hall (Sandy) bring the lovestruck highschoolers to life in the local production of this iconic musical. The romp through ’50s culture and American high school life features some of the most memorable songs in musical theatre history: Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You and, of course, Greased Lightnin’.

Grease runs from January 4, 2025 at Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are available online.

Sister Act

Based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, the musical version ofSister Act stars Casey Donovan of Australian Idol fame. The musical follows the tale of Deloris, who sees a murder and is forced into witness protect in a convent, where she assists the nuns with their struggling choir group. Sister Act features original music from Tony and Oscar award-winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted, The Little Mermaid), whose soundtrack draws on Motown, soul and disco.

Sister Act runs from February 8 to March 2, 2025 at Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are available online.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

The Dictionary of Lost Words – a co-production between State Theatre Company South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company – is back for a national tour after a successful run in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The play is based on the 2020 novel by Adelaide author Pip Williams. It tells the story Esme (played by Shannen Alyce Quan), who grows up in the scriptorium alongside lexicographers compiling the first Oxford English Dictionary, and her adulthood as a woman in the early 1900s.

The Dictionary of Lost Words runs from April 26, 2025 to May 10, 2025 at Playhouse, QPAC.

Dear Son

This adaptation of author and activist Thomas Mayo’s book of the same name is a co-production between State Theatre Company South Australia and Queensland Theatre. The book compiles letters from First Nations men to their sons and presents them alongside Mayo’s own poetry. This world premiere production is brought to life by First Nations theatre makers Isaac Drandic and John Harvey, with Jimi Bani and Trevor Jamieson leading the cast. The play uses story and music to honour the importance of spirit and family connection in First Nations culture.

Dear Son runs from June 28, 2025 to July 19, 2025 at Bille Brown Theatre, South Brisbane.

Julia

It’s been over 10 years since Julia Gillard, then the Prime Minister of Australia, delivered what’s now commonly referred to as her Misogyny Speech (it even has its own Wikipedia entry). Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith’s Julia is a reminder of how far we’ve come, but also how far we still have to go. It also reflects the life and career that led to this pivotal moment in Australian political history.

Julia runs from August 16, 2025 to August 30, 2025 at the Playhouse, QPAC.

Additional reporting by Lucy Bell Bird and Kai Page.

This article was originally published on April 22, 2024 but was updated on October 8, 2024 to include more plays and musicals coming to Brisbane this year.