Merrigong Theatre Company is delighted to unveil its 2026 season, featuring 10 Mainstage shows, and a line-up of strictly limited seasons of smash-hit productions.
With a smorgasbord of local, national and international theatre, innovative new works from the MERRIGONGX Artists Program and a colourful line-up of family entertainment, Merrigong’s 2026 season invites audiences to become collaborators in a year of unforgettable theatre.
2025 was a momentous year for Merrigong. In August, the company was named Performing Arts Centre of the Year at the PAC Australia IMPACT Awards in Darwin, achieving national recognition for its bold programming, community partnerships, and commitment to nurturing new Australian work. 2025 also saw audiences return in record numbers, with Merrigong Season Ticket Holders the highest since 2015. In June, The Dictionary of Lost Words set a new box office record for a Merrigong Mainstage Season show, and then just months later this record was surpassed by the blockbuster production of Julia becoming the highest-grossing production in Merrigong’s history.
“After an extraordinary year in 2025, I am thrilled to share our 2026 season” said Simon Hinton, Artistic Director / CEO. “Theatre is, at its heart, a shared act of imagination. Whilst it’s our artists who bring these stories to life, it is the presence of the audience and their ability to imagine which makes this experience meaningful. Together, we make something bigger than any of us could on our own, and that is what makes live theatre truly magical. In 2026, I hope audiences will fully embrace this experience with open minds and hearts.”
The season opens in February with BlakDance’s Garabari, a powerful gathering of bodies, light, and sound featuring acclaimed choreographer and Wiradjuri artist Joel Bray. Developed on Wiradjuri Country with Elders and artists, Garabari shares the Giilang (story and song) of the making of the Murrumbidgee River. Audiences can experience this stunning work in two unique settings: at the Wollongong Town Hall, and on Country at the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre, offering both an intimate theatre experience and a connection to the land where the story originates.
Also in February, Merrigong is launching a brand-new summer event: Theatre Under the Stars. The University of Wollongong’s Kooloobong Oval will transform into a magical outdoor theatre space each summer, starting in 2026 with Sport for Jove’s razor-sharp take on Shakespeare’s raucous The Comedy of Errors. Held at sunset, this unmissable event invites audiences to enjoy theatre in a spectacular open- air setting, following the success of Merrigong’s acclaimed outdoor presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2023.
In May, Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of My Brilliant Career arrives in Wollongong for the final leg of its limited, exclusive Australian tour. This is the final chance for audiences to see the smash- hit musical which debuted in Melbourne last year to sold-out audiences and multiple five-star reviews. The winner of five Green Room Awards, My Brilliant Career is an electric reimagining of Miles Franklin’s classic Australian novel that transforms his literary heroine into a singer-songwriter, played here by Kala Gare (SIX the Musical).
Following a critically acclaimed MERRIGONGX debut season in 2025, one of Australia’s most dynamic, young First Nations voices, award-winning Gunai artist and writer Kirli Saunders, transfers her breathtaking one woman show Yandha Djanbay (Go Slowly) to the Mainstage in June. A powerful meditation on resilience, connection, and healing, Saunder’s work uses intimate storytelling to centre love, grief and responses to the recent referendum.
July brings Balloon Dog, a beautifully tender tale of family and culture from Aotearoa New Zealand. This is a unique opportunity to see the internationally acclaimed New Zealand-based theatre company, Indian Ink Theatre Company on tour in Australia. Indian Ink presents Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis’ big-hearted adaptation of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s classic story, Kabuliwala.
In August, beloved stage and screen star Noni Hazlehurst returns to Merrigong for the first time since 2016, in a limited national tour of Daniel Keene’s new work, The Lark. Written specifically for Hazlehurst by the same creative team that brought audiences the critically acclaimed hit, Mother, this one-woman play is a powerful meditation on life, death and change that follows the story of working-class publication Rose Grey. Following this in mid-August, award-winning Aotearoa New Zealand theatre-makers EBKM explore the universal human experience of heartbreak in their cathartic new comedy Heartbreak Hotel, fresh from the RISING Festival Melbourne, the Edinburgh Festival and Soho Theatre London.
In September, five fearless women bring Jane Austen’s most iconic love story to life in Isobel McArthur’s Olivier Award-winning adaptation of Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). Direct from London’s West End, this unique and audacious retelling of Austen’s classic work has been hailed by critics as “frankly sensational” (Variety UK) and features pop hits, unstoppable energy and a whole lot of heart. Bangarra Dance Theatre’s new work FuturesPast comes to Wollongong next September for an Australian-exclusive performance. Over three acts, allow yourself to be carried from the dawn of time through a cycle of belonging that transcends generations. FuturesPast draws on Mirning woman and Bangarra’s Artistic Director and Co-CEO, Francis Ring’s choreographic career embodying the spirit, artistry and strength that defines Bangarra’s work.
Closing out the mainstage season in October is Belvoir St Theatre presentation of Craig Silvey’s (Jasper Jones) classic for all ages, Runt. The legendary Neil Armfield (Cloudstreet, Keating!) directs a cast of Australia’s finest stage actors, in a brand-new stage adaptation of the great Australian underdog story.
In 2026, MERRIGONGX Artists’ Program goes from strength to strength, providing independent artists with financial, technical and artistic support to create extraordinary new works. These works include; Jake Māra and Lincoln Smith’s Arawarra, the courageous tale of a First Nations leader and freedom fighter who was erased from our history books, Siobhán Doran-Chaston’s intimate new play on life, death and the universe Two Weeks, Tegan Ware’s immersive blend of theatre and visual art Cicada, and Lauchlan Grogan’s Service, a high-octane dance theatre collision that dives headfirst into the controlled chaos of the hospitality industry. The full suite of MERRIGONGX artists and residencies will be announced in February next year.
Merrigong’s 2026 season also features a fantastic family program for youngsters and the young-at-heart. Dive with a dolphin, spot a leopard or dig up a dinosaur, as Alison Lestor’s beloved picture book Imagine leaps onto the stage with digital puppetry, animation, and rich original music in IMAGINE LIVE. In June, one of the world’s most loved dogs, Eric Hill’s Spot, arrives in Wollongong with puppetry, songs and puzzles for the whole family. Mada’s Magic Marvels presents jaw-dropping magic tricks performed by Australia’s own master illusionist Adam Mada, while Australia’s favourite kid’s comedians, The Listies wrap the season with freshly hatched gags and seriously silly nonsense. Merrigong’s unmissable Creativity Camps also return during the Autumn, Winter and Spring school holidays.
Merrigong is making Season Tickets more accessible than ever with simplified packages. Audiences can choose 4 to 5 shows to unlock 20% off or 6 + shows to get 30% off.
More information about Merrigong Season 2026 can be found at merrigong.com.au/Season2026
