Feature image: Meow Meow. Credit Karl Giant

The box-office appeal of Meow Meow, Tim Winton, Heather Mitchell’s return as RBG and the aquatic frolic of The Pool head a diverse line-up for WA’s State theatre company next year.

Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes and a play based on Winton’s 2018 novel The Shepherd’s Hut, from the playwright who adapted Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe for the stage, give the first half of 2026 a big-name presence, along with the popular-demand return of Suzie Miller’s RBG: Of Many, One.

“(The year) is a vibrant mix of powerhouse performances, uncompromising original commissions, lauded emerging voices and inspiring collaborations,” Black Swan State Theatre Company Artistic Director Kate Champion says. Bold new Australian works are showcased alongside reimagined classics and international gems, reflecting Black Swan’s commitment to theatre that celebrates unique, diverse voices, Champion says.

Those new voices come to the fore in the second half of the year with the WA premiere of Kendall Feaver’s mother-and-daughter drama The Almighty Sometimes directed by Emily McLean, Will O’Mahony’s new AI self-help satire Day (After Day) In The Life Of The Useless, directed by Adam Mitchell, and the blistering  comedy-drama Jacky from Arrernte writer Declan Furber Gillick, a co-production with Yirra Yaakin.

Hitting the road into regional WA, Black Swan’s new Associate Artistic Director Naomi Pigram-Mitchell brings Raised in Big Spirit Country, her multi-artist celebration of the “Broome sound”, made famous by Bran Nue Dae, Scrap Metal and the Pigram Brothers, back home to the Goolarri Amphitheatre in September after its sold out 2025 Perth season.

Building on her role as Resident Artist, Pigram-Mitchell says her appointment continues a three-decade journey that began as a 12-year-old when she saw the 1990 premiere of Bran Nue Dae by Jimmy Chi and Kuckles, directed by Black Swan co-founder Andrew Ross.

“It changed my life,” the Yawuru and Wadjarri performer and director says. “To witness what is regarded as Australia’s first Indigenous musical on stage, so far from home, and to see an audience celebrate something that belonged to me, to my people, was priceless. “I’m honoured to contribute to Black Swan’s future while carrying forward the legacy of our cultural stories.”

Raised in Big Spirit Country draws on those foundations. “I’m hoping that Raised in Big Spirit Country can rebuild the connection that started almost 30 years ago with Bran Nue Dae, and that we can continue to stage these kinds of works, so the voices and stories of the Kimberley can be heard far and wide.”

To round out the year in November and December, regional audiences will be able to literally jump into The Pool, the 2023 Perth Festival outdoor aquatic-centre show directed by Champion and written by Steve Rodgers.

The 2026 program is distinguished by co-productions and partnerships with other companies, partly due to the more-with less approach driven by funding imperatives as well as the creative potential of collaborations favoured by Champion in previous seasons.

Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes, the third of the cabaret superstar’s twisted takes on Hans Christian Anderson tales after The Little Mermaid and The Matchstick Girl, is directed by Champion to open the season at Perth Festival as a co-production with Belvoir St Theatre and Malthouse Theatre. The Sydney Theatre Company returns with its production of RBG: Of Many, One after a sell-out season in 2024 and Champion will be co-directing Jacky in tandem with Yirra Yaakin Artistic Director Maitland Schnaars.

Winton’s The Shepherd’s Hut, directed by Matt Edgerton, adapted by Tim McGarry (Boy Swallows Universe, Tim) and starring WA stage veteran George Shevtsov, premieres at the Heath Ledger Theatre as a special Black Swan commission. It’s the latest in a long line of Winton books to be adapted on stage or screen, following the likes of Breath, Blueback, That Eye The Sky, The Riders, Dirt Music, Cloudstreet, The Turning and The Bugalugs Bum Thief.

Champion acknowledges expectations in some quarters that a State theatre company has a role to revive modern classics and plays from the so-called “canon” but says she also has a strong duty to elevate new voices and new works that continue to grow that theatrical legacy.

“I passionately believe our responsibility as a State Theatre Company is to commission, develop and present stories that reflect who we are today and respond to the social and geopolitical realities we face in our modern world,” she writes in her 2026 program.

“That doesn’t mean ignoring the past. Quite the contrary, we acknowledge and refer to the past through the lens of contemporary retelling. Every work this season is less than ten years old, and every voice is Australian. I’m proud that Black Swan continues to lead in bringing fresh voices, local experiences and thought-provoking perspectives to the stage.”

BLACK SWAN SEASON 2026

Meow Meow’s The Red Shoes, His Majesty’s Theatre, 26 February to 1 March

RBG: Of Many, One, Heath Ledger Theatre, 19 March to 4 April

The Shepherd’s Hut, Heath Ledger Theatre, 9-31 May

The Almighty Sometimes at Subiaco Arts Centre, 19 June to 5 July

Day (After Day) In The Life Of The Useless, Heath Ledger Theatre, 29 August to 20 September

Raised in Big Spirit Country, Goolarri Amphitheatre, 3-5 September.

Jacky, Subiaco Arts Centre, 23 October to 8 November.

The Pool, WA regional tour and Perth venue, November-December (dates TBC)

The 2026 Black Swan season is on sale to Friends of Black Swan now and to the general public on 14 October.  Details:  blackswantheatre.com.au