Sydney Theatre Company Announces Its Star-Studded 2026 Season

Mitchell Butel is stepping into mighty big shoes.

The newly minted Sydney Theatre Company artistic director took over the gig from Kip Williams, whose “cine-theatre” plays have won Tonys and Olivier awards and taken him to the West End and Broadway.

Announcing his first season, Butel said in a statement, “In 2026, our artists, both onstage performers and creatives behind the scenes, represent the generations from emerging to veterans. My career started as an actor and I’ve been lucky to work for almost every theatre company and performed on stages across Australia, but Sydney Theatre Company feels like home.” Butel aims to both showcase established performers and create “opportunities for the next generation of artists.”

Next year, STC favourites like Justine Clarke, Pamela Rabe, Jonathan Biggins and Helen Thomson will return to the stage alongside screen actors like David Wenham, Miranda Otto, Keiynan Lonsdale and Sam Worthington.

Debut works include Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical; Bennelong in London, which tells the story of Wangal man Bennelong, who was abducted by Governor Phillip and later spent more than a year living in Great Britain; and Strong Is the New Pretty, a new piece by Prima Facie playwright Suzie Miller, which recounts the formation of the AFLW.

Tony Award-winning play Purpose and Steven Moffat’s The Unfriend, starring Helen Thomson, will both make their Australian debuts next year. My Brilliant Career, a musical based on the Miles Franklin classic, will also make its Sydney debut in March 2026 after a Melbourne Theatre Company production in 2024.

In terms of star power, the season has packed a lot of wattage into its 13 productions. Miranda Otto and Ewen Leslie star in The River, an intimate cabin drama from lauded playwright Jez Butterworth. David Wenham’s return to the Sydney Theatre Company goes Greek in the Homer-inspired An Iliad. Pamela Rabe and Avatar ’s Sam Worthington go head-to-head in the religious drama Doubt.

This is the full program for the 2026 Sydney Theatre Company season:
• Purpose, February 2 to March 22, Wharf 1 Theatre
• The Normal Heart, February 9 to March 21, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
• My Brilliant Career, March 21 to April 26, Roslyn Packer Theatre
• The River, March 30 to May 9, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
• An Iliad, April 13 to May 30, Wharf 1 Theatre
• Doubt: A Parable, June 30 to August 2, Roslyn Packer Theatre
• Bennelong in London, July 18 to August 16, Wharf 1 Theatre
• Housework, September 5 to October 17, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
• Girls & Boys, September 17 to October 31, Wharf 1 Theatre
• The Unfriend, September 29 to October 31, Roslyn Packer Theatre
• Strong Is the New Pretty, October 22 to December 5, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
• The Gospel According to Paul: The Second Coming, November 6 to December 20, Wharf 1 Theatre
• Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical, November 15 to December 20, Roslyn Packer Theatre

Head here for tickets.

@sydneytheatreco