OBSERVER: Malthouse 2027 Season Launch


Seasons come and go but 2027 promises to be one of significance for Malthouse Theatre, for in just having its 60th year Anniversary from starting back in 1976, its recently appointed Co-CEO, and Artistic Director Dean Bryant is responsible for the assembly of bold new Australian works for the 2027 Malthouse season.
Award-winning Bryant brings with him decades of theatrical diversity, as a performer, as a writer, as a musician and as a director throughout Australia and overseas.
The launch was presented to a packed Merlyn Theatre with Dean Bryant as host, interviewing the writers, actors and directors of their work throughout the 2027 season.
Seven of the seasons are all new Australian works that will be world premieres, all to the credit of Bryant securing. Such will be the opening of the season with Eddie Perfect’s premiere of The Tartuffe, an AI-powered hairdressing robot. Then a Victorian premiere of Swim by Mununiali poet Ellen van Neervan following events on a sizzling summer’s day at a public pool.
Early June 2027, the Merlyn Theatre will be transformed into a world of immersive sound and luminous imagery with the premiere of Stone Yard Devotional with acclaimed actors Lisa McCune and Cath-erine McClements.
Another premiere and directed by Dean Bryant will be Jackpot, with two sisters in a dark comedy, on a sleepless night and sharing a bottle of whiskey while negotiating who will care for their elderly mother.
Moving into the Beckett Theatre will be Keziah Warner’s one-person adaption of Henry James 1898 gothic horror The Turn of the Screw, a governess caring for two orphaned children at an isolated English country estate.
There is a lot more such as, Lucy where Sam and Lucy fall for each other fast and forever, while vintage film buffs will not be disappointed with the premiere of an adaption of Margaret Mitchell’s timeless Gone with the Wind.
Also be prepared for the return of Malthouse Comedy where the entire venue is taken over as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival.
Become a season subscriber now for healthy discounts. Details: malthouse
theatre.com.au
Review by Graeme McCoubrie