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Entertainment
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
A Room with A View
Best new musicals and theatre shows coming to Melbourne in 2026 and 2027
Put on your finest costume, and get ready for curtain-up at the best musicals, theatre shows and live entertainment experiences playing in Melbourne in 2026.
As one of the most famous theatre cities in the world, there’s plenty to see and enjoy in Melbourne in 2026, from fabulous theatre shows and musicals to great eateries around the city's theatres where you can dine or have a drink before or after the theatre.
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For the most up-to-date information on showtimes, prices and dates, please visit the show website.
Best Melbourne musicals in 2026
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical
Until 7 November 2026, Princess Theatre
Are you a Neil Diamond fan? Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE tells the uplifting story of how a kid from Brooklyn became an American rock icon selling 140 million albums.
This exhilarating musical celebrates Neil Diamond’s remarkable career through classics such as Forever in Blue Jeans and Sweet Caroline. The show traces the journey of an artist who sold out concerts around the world, earned induction into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Fiddler on the Roof
Until 27 December 2026, Her Majesty's Theatre
Sold out in London and breaking records as the best-selling musical of all time, Fiddler on the Roof arrives in Melbourne for a strictly limited season in 2026. This critically acclaimed West End production has earned three Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival, and is based on the short story Tevye the Dairyman by prolific Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem.
Set in 1905 in the small village of Anatevka, the story follows Tevye, a milkman devoted to tradition, as he navigates life with his five daughters. As each daughter begins to challenge long-held customs around love and marriage, Tevye must confront the tension between preserving his cultural identity and adapting to a rapidly changing world.
MRS. DOUBTFIRE
25 November 2026 - 14 February 2027, PrincessTheatre
The feel-good musical comedy MRS. DOUBTFIRE is coming to Melbourne, with fabulous new songs and fun dance numbers paired with the iconic film moments you know and love!
This hilarious yet heartfelt musical is based on the 1993 comedy-drama film Mrs. Doubtfire, in which recently divorced voice actor Daniel Hillard creates the alter ego Euphegenia Doubtfire: an elderly Scottish nanny who is hired to work in his ex-wife's household, allowing him to spend more time with his children.
Best Melbourne plays and theatre shows in 2026
Eliza
Until 31 October 2026, Southbank Theatre
Directed by Paige Rattray, the new psychological thriller Eliza confronts the ethical tensions surrounding rapidly advancing AI. Written by four-time AWGIE Award winner Tom Holloway, the production offers an unsettling reflection on the unintended consequences of technological progress.
The story centres on Joseph Weizenbaum, a brilliant MIT professor shaped by the trauma of fleeing Nazi Germany as a child. As he develops a groundbreaking computer program designed to simulate talk therapy - using intimate details from his secretary Becky's life - the boundary between human connection and machine response begins to erode.
Before I Forget
24 October - 28 November 2026, Fairfax Studio
Before I Forget is a poignant tribute to motherhood, family and culture. Blending wicked humour and deep emotional truth, this is a celebration of the strength of an ancestral line shaped by an accomplished matriarch.
In Before I Forget, the fiercely independent First Nations linguist, activist and academic Faith Wells is affected by escalating dementia. Her daughter Karma must sell her own home to fund Faith's move into aged care. As Karma’s daughter Hope faces struggles of her own, three generations must confront what is remembered, what is lost and what endures.
All About Eve
20 November - 12 December 2026, Malthouse Theatre
The iconic film All About Eve is brought to the stage in a sharp and stylish production that revisits a classic story of ambition and rivalry, interrogating the enduring pressures of fame, ageing and the relentless pursuit of relevance in the spotlight.
In a New York dressing room, Broadway star Margo Channing meets her devoted admirer Eve Harrington, who quickly ingratiates herself into Margo's world. While Eve presents as humble and eager to help, Margo senses a more calculating ambition beneath the surface. As the balance of power begins to shift, the play unpacks the precarious nature of success, where admiration can turn into rivalry and the rise of one woman may come at the expense of another.
All About Eve asks why our fascination with celebrity and youth never gets old.
A Room with A View
14 November - 19 December 2026, Southbank Theatre
Set between the sun-drenched streets of Florence and the reserved drawing rooms of Edwardian England, A Room with a View was originally a novel written by E.M. Forster. This sweeping and mischievous romance has been adapted for the stage by playwright Grace Chapple and director Hannah Goodwin.
A Room with a View follows Lucy Honeychurch, a young woman who travels to Italy with her prim cousin Charlotte Bartlett and encounters the unconventional and candid George Emerson. Torn between social expectation and her awakening desires, Lucy must decide whether to follow the life prescribed for her or risk everything for one that feels authentically her own.
Best Melbourne stage shows in 2026
Ballet shows
The Sleeping Beauty (Until 18 October 2026, Regent Theatre)
Performing in Australia for the first time in decades, The Stuttgart Ballet brings Marcia Haydée's interpretation of The Sleeping Beauty to Melbourne by special invitation from The Australian Ballet. This exclusive season showcases a classic fairytale that unfolds as a dramatic battle between good (Lilac Fairy) and evil (Carabosse). It's set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's iconic score and brought vividly to life through Jürgen Rose's intricate sets and costumes.
Dracula (Until 25 October 2026, Her Majesty's Theatre)
The critically acclaimed Dracula ballet is playing in Melbourne after a sold-out London season and record-breaking tour across Australia and New Zealand. Witness this haunting, cinematic reimagining of the gothic classic, driven by masterpieces from Bach, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns and Debussy.
The Nutcracker (24-31 October 2026, Ian Potter State Theatre)
Sir Peter Wright's beloved production of The Nutcracker returns to enchant audiences in Melbourne this year. This faithful interpretation of the 19th-century Christmas tale is set to the iconic score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and captures the magic of the holiday season. With designs by John F. Macfarlane, the production is celebrated for its richly detailed staging and timeless appeal.
Gothic grandeur and thrilling choreography bring the dark world of Dracula to life on stage.
Opera shows
La Bohème (7-18 November 2026, Regent Theatre)
La Bohème returns in a fresh new production by director Constantine Costi, reimagining Giacomo Puccini's timeless tale of love and hardship among young artists in Paris. The opera captures the exhilaration and fragility of youth, where passion and creativity collide with the realities of poverty and loss.
The Trumpet of the Swan (20-22 November 2026, Regent Theatre)
The Trumpet of the Swan brings E. B. White's beloved story to life as a narration with a cinematic live score performed by Orchestra Victoria. Adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman with music by Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, this acclaimed production follows Louis, a voiceless swan helped by a trumpet and a boy named Sam to find his own unique voice.
My Fair Lady (14 November 2026 - 17 January 2027, Ian Potter State Theatre)
Lerner and Loewe's iconic My Fair Lady will be the first major musical staged at Arts Centre Melbourne's newly refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre. Seventy years after its dazzling Broadway debut – and more than 60 years after the Oscar-winning 1964 film – the musical returns in a lavish production based on the 2016 Australian staging directed by Julie Andrews. Andrews originated the role of Eliza Doolittle, the irrepressible Cockney flower girl transformed into a lady of society.
