Melbourne Theatre Company unveils “biggest and boldest” season to date 

Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) is gearing up for an exciting 2025 season, showcasing 13 productions throughout the year that celebrate Australian talent, innovative new works, and timeless classics. 

Starting in January is the return of Nathan Maynard’s beloved play 37, which captures the fervour of a regional football team on a journey to win their first flag. 

The team enlists the help of the Marngrook cousins – named after the Aboriginal game that inspired AFL. 

“It’s actually a play that was also on this year, but the response to the show was so huge – from critics and from audiences – that we just had to bring it back and give it another life,” MTC artistic director Anne-Louise Sarks said.

“We love that show and we’re so proud of it – we can’t wait for more people to fall in love with it.”

In February, renowned podcaster Deborah Frances-White (The Guilty Feminist) will bring her first play, Never Have I Ever to MTC, following its UK premiere. 

March will see The Robot Dog by Roshelle Yee Pui Fong and Ngamurarri Matthew Heffernan take to the stage, followed by a fresh take on David Williamson’s classic The Removalist in March and April, which “examines power and violence back in 1971”.

“This work was first performed in 1971 in Melbourne at La Mama Theatre – this is a new version of that, I’m also directing it,” Ms Sarks told Southbank News.

In May, audiences can look forward to The Black Woman of Gippsland by Andrea James, as well as LEGENDS (Of the Golden Arches) by Joe Paradise Lui and Merlynn Tong in June, exploring the Chinese-Singaporean cultural experience in Australia.

There’s a whole lot of animation and AV work inside this piece, it’s got a really different feel to a lot of the more traditional plays that we make.

“For an audience member who’s up for a little bit more of a wild night, this one might be it," Ms Sarks said. 

June will also showcase The Wrong Gods by S. Shakthidharan, and Paula Vogel’s Mother Play in July. 

One of the season’s highlights is the Australian premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Kimberly Akimbo: A Musical, marking its first performance outside of Broadway.

From mid-August to mid-September, Destiny by Kirsty Marillier will grace the stage, followed by an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca in October, known widely from the iconic Alfred Hitchcock film. 

The season will wrap up with an adaptation of Benjamin Law’s Dying: A Memoir from October to November and concluding with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in November and December.

“There’s a lot of brightness across the year, but we’re also so passionate about telling Australian story and expanding what an Australian story is, or redefining what an Australian story,” Ms Sarks said.

“Theatre is an experience like no other. You’re in the room and you’re part of that storytelling, I think there’s a real hunger for that in the community and for something that feels alive and authentic. I really want audiences to come along and be apart of that and fall in love with it in the way that I have.” •