Best new musicals and theatre shows coming to Melbourne in 2025 and 2026

The best Melbourne musicals, theatre shows and stage productions in 2025

Rebecca

Until 5 November 2025, Southbank Theatre

Whether you've read Daphne du Maurier's classic 1938 novel Rebecca or not, you'll be swept away by the Melbourne Theatre Company's theatrical rendition.

In this haunting Gothic romance, a young woman marries the dashing, wealthy widower Maxim de Winter in a whirlwind romance and moves to his beautiful estate, Manderley. But the new Mrs de Winter is confronted by the suspiciou circumstances of Maxim's first wife Rebecca around every shadowy corner - and the housekeeper Mrs Danvers seems determined to undermine her at every turn.

This is a true thriller for the stage. If you like, you can prep for the show by watching the 1940 or 2020 version of the film Rebecca - or go in blind to enjoy the mystery.

Here You Come Again

Until 15 November 2025, Comedy Theatre

Can't get enough of Dolly Parton? Here You Come Again brings Dolly's songs to life in an all-new musical comedy, full of hits like Jolene, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream and I Will Always Love You. The show comes to Melbourne after sold-out seasons across the US and UK, so get your tickets quickly to avoid disappointment.

Here You Come Again follows a diehard Dolly Parton fan (played by Australian Dash Kruck) who receives life lessons from a fantasy version of Dolly (played by musical co-creator Tricia Paoluccio), learning about life, love and how to rise above life's challenges. Complete with an all-Australian ensemble and live band, Here You Come Again is sure to be great fun for everyone.

The Talented Mr Ripley

Until 23 November 2025, Playhouse Theatre

Savour the captivating tale of Tom Ripley, orphan pauper turned master deceiver in 1950s New York, in this adaptation from page to stage. The Talented Mr Ripley was originally a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith, and has enjoyed numerous film and television adaptations since.

On stage, watch as Tom Ripley becomes obsessed with the wealthy life of shipping magnate's son Dickie Greenleaf. Starting to imitate Dickie's every move - his clothes, his mannerisms - it isn't long until Ripley takes dark new steps to live the life he craves. Follow his story along the hedonistic Italian Riviera at the Arts Centre's Playhouse Theatre this year.

Much Ado About Nothing

14 November - 19 December 2025, Southbank Theatre

Strap in for a modern rendition of Shakespeare's beloved Much Ado About Nothing, a classic enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. Beatrice and Benedick love to hate each other, but their friends know they're perfect for each other.

This play is packed with intrigue, drama and romance - plus a second romance plot between Claudio and Hero, which is threatened by the villainous Don John. But it's Beatrice and Benedick who shine in Much Ado About Nothing thanks to their sharp, witty banter.

Love, Actually? Musical Parody

5 - 23 December 2025, Athenaeum Theatre

Whether you love, hate or have never seen the popular Christmas rom-com film Love, Actually, you'll be smiling and laughing your way through this off-Broadway sendup. Follow nine quirky (and questionable) couples looking for love in London, Love, Actually is a hilarious tale of finding love at the happiest time of the year.

The Nutcracker

11 - 23 December 2025, Princess Theatre

Relive one of ballet's most iconic stories this Christmas by watching The Nutcracker in theatre. Presented by the BIG Live ballet company and their world-class dancers from around the globe, The Nutcracker is sure to delight the whole family with its captivating story, music and dancing.

The Nutcracker is a classical ballet by Tchaikovsky that's set on Christmas Eve. A young girl's wooden nutcracker doll comes to life and leads the girl into a lovely adventure full of gingerbread men, snowflakes and the iconic Sugar Plum Fairy.

A Christmas Carol

27 November - 24 December 2025, Comedy Theatre

This five-time Tony Award-winning production of A Christmas Carol, originally a Charles Dickens novella, returns to Melbourne for a strictly limited five week run. It tells the tale of miserable miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the spirits of past, present and future on a snowy Christmas Eve to try and change his ways before it's too late.

The production is a true show-stopper, with celebrated stage and screen actor Lachy Hulme playing Ebenezer Scrooge, joined by director Matthew Warchus (Groundhog Day, Matilda the Musical) and playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Enola Holmes).

Enjoy a wondrous stage show this Christmas, full of beloved carols like Joy to the World and Silent Night.

ANASTASIA The Broadway Musical

20 December 2025 - 15 February 2026, Regent Theatre

Do you remember the hit 1997 animated film by the name of Anastasia, that followed the amnesiac Anastasia (Anya) Romanov as she journeyed to discover her past? Whether you fondly remember the musical movie or not, Anastasia The Broadway Musical is sure to delight both young and old with is romantic, adventure-filled story.

This dazzling production is coming to Australia for the first time, featuring beloved songs like Once Upon a December and Journey to the Past. Journey from the twilight years of the Imperial rule in Russia to the euphoric 1920s Paris with a brave young woman, a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat as they help Anya find her family.

CATS

From 21 December 2025, Hamer Hall

Book now to see CATS, and experience the 40th Australian anniversary of Andrew Lloyd Webber's sparkling feline musical.

Adapted from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, this groundbreaking musical tells the story of the Jellicle Ball. At this ball, which takes place just one night a year, the Jellicle cats meet to see who will be chosen by Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, to go up to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

Shrek the Musical

7 - 10 January 2026, Playhouse Theatre

Experience a topsy-turvy fairytale in a kingdom far, far away (also known as the Playhouse): Shrek the Musical is coming to town! This limited season has all your favourite characters: Shrek the grumpy ogre, talkative Donkey, feisty Princess Fiona, ruthless Lord Farquaad and fearsome (and lovely) Dragon. Don't miss out!

The Pirates of Penzance

31 January - 6 February 2026, Palais Theatre

The Pirates of Penzance is sailing into Melbourne this summer. Make sure to catch this fun, silly operetta by Gilbert & Sullivan at the Palais Theatre. It's a theatrical treasure, bursting at the seams with much-loved music like I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General and I am the Pirate King.

This show first premiered in Melbourne back in 1984, opening the new Victorian Arts Centre at the time. It's been beloved by Aussie audiences ever since. Follow Frederic and the band of tender-hearted pirates that he's apprenticed to as he tries to reconcile true love and duty.

My Brilliant Career

23 January - 28 February 2026, Southbank Theatre

Back by popular demand, the smash-hit musical My Brilliant Career returns to demonstrate once again that you don't keep a fierce woman down. Watch singer-songwriter Sybylla Melvyn reject the future that 1890s Australian society expects of her, instead challenging class, gender and family to find her own voice. Enjoy a powerhouse score full of pop, rock and bush ballads.

The Book of Mormon

From February 2026, PrincessTheatre

The Book of Mormon is an outrageous musical comedy about a pair of missionaries sent to a remote village in Uganda. It's jam-packed with catchy songs, explicit content and naughty jokes - parents be warned!

Nevertheless, this nine-time Tony Award-winning has been called 'the best musical of this century' by The New York Times, and will make for a fabulous night out.

Cluedo

7 February - 1 March 2026, Comedy Theatre

Six guests gather at Boddy Manor - but who is the murderer? Inspired by the classis Hasbro board game Cluedo and the 1985 film Clue, Cluedo is a comedy-drama that'll keep you guessing whodunnit right to the end.

So what do you think - was it Professor Plum in the billiards room with the candlestick? Or was it Mrs Peacock in the library with the knife?

MJ the Musical

Until 1 March 2026, Her Majesty's Theatre

Everyone knows Michael Jackson: the iconic American singer dubbed the 'King of Pop'. Follow the making of his 1992 Dangerous World Tour in MJ the Musical, which has won multiple Tony Awards.

You won't just hear Michael's incredible songs live; you'll also get a rare look into his creative mind and collaborative spirit.

West Gate

10 March - 18 April 2026, Southbank Theatre

On 15 October 1970, the West Gate Bridge collapsed mid-construction, killing 35 construction workers and injuring 18 more. It remains Australia's worst industrial disaster. West Gate is an emotionally-charged new work with a powerhouse cast that tells the story of this awful moment's human cost.

Follow young Scrapper, a mouthy labourer and unionist teamed up with veteran welder Vittorio on the West Gate Bridge project. There's mounting pressure to get the bridge finished, questionable safety measures, disquieting working conditions - and none of them have ever built a steel bridge before, let alone one of this size. When the structure comes crashing down, who will take the fall?

Heathers the Musical

8 April - 3 May 2026, Playhouse

Both funny and dark, Heathers the Musical is a cult-classic musical for good reason. Coming direct from London and New York to Melbourne, Heathers the Musical is based on the film starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater and full of killer soundtracks.

In 1989 Westerberg High, popularity is a matter of life and death. Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day after high school - until she's taken under the wings of the Heathers: beautiful, popular and cruel. Will she fight to stay at the top - or fall under the spell of mysterious teen rebel J.D.? At Westerberg, any choice could quickly turn deadly.

Julius Caesar

23 April - 10 May 2026, Fairfax Studio

Shakespeare's political masterpiece Julius Caesar comes to life with Peter Evans' thrilling new production. Senators Brutus and Cassius are growing nervous at Caesar's growing power in the Roman Republic, which hasn't had a king for four centuries. Discover the conspiracy that led to Caesar's famous assassination, and the storm of civil war that followed.

Pride and Prejudice

14 - 23 May 2026, Malthouse Theatre

Enjoy the classic romance Pride and Prejudice - originally a novel by Jane Austen, adapted numerous times for film and TV - on stage at the Malthouse Theatre. This is a searing satire on polite society, with plenty of laughs and heartwarming moments.

As in the original, Mrs Bennet wants to see her five daughters strategically married. But this is no ordinary adaptation. Here, Pride and Prejudice is pushed into the 21st century, riffing off the rising cost of living and plummeting dreams of home ownership. Elizabeth Bennet's sister Mary is in a goth phase; Mr Bennet is played by a potted monstera. Will there still be a happy ending?

The Glass Menagerie

27 April - 5 June 2026, Southbank Theatre

Experience Tennessee Williams's haunting play The Glass Menagerie, brought back to Melbourne for the first time in two decades by the Melbourne Theatre Company. This is one of the most beloved and enduring works of the 20th century.

Amanda Wingfield, a faded Southern Belle abandoned by her husband to raise two children under harsh financial conditions, just wants her daughter Laura and her son Tom to have a secure future. She's obsessed with finding a suitor for Laura, a fragile young woman with a limp and an inferiority complex.

Frustrated warehouse worker and aspiring poet Tom introduces Jim O'Connor, an old high school acquaintance, to the family. Will Jim be what the family is looking for - or a blow to their carefully constructed illusion?

Told from Tom's perspective, this bittersweet portrait of a fragile family will haunt you for days after you see it.

Mackenzie

24 June - 9 August 2026, Fairfax Studio

Mackenzie is the Bell Shakespeare theatre company's latest reimagining: this time, a twisted and deeply camp version of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

It charts 13-year-old Mackenzie's rise to pop artist fame, fuelled by a cutthroat stage mum who'll stop at nothing to make her daughter a star. Set in the early 2000s, expect a wild ride that'll leave you both laughing and disturbed.

Uncle Vanya

21 July - 22 August 2026, Playhouse

Anton Chekhov's classic tragicomedy play Uncle Vanya has been brought to new life by one of Australia's most prolific playwrights, Joanna Murray-Smith. This is a masterful examination of the human condition, full of wit, longing and frustration.

Uncle Vanya is set on a once-grand estate in rural Russia, the abode of Sonya and her Uncle Vanya. When elderly Professor Serebryakov, owner of the estate, visits with his young second wife Yelena, it turns their quiet life on its head. Vanya, brother to the professor's late first wife, is besotted with Yelena; Sonya, the professor's daugher by his first wife, is in love with local doctor Astrov; Astrov also only has eyes for Yelena.

A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical

From August 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 shines a spotlight on Neil Diamond's career, with a catalogue of classics like Forever in Blue Jeans and Sweet Caroline. You'll soon see why Neil Diamond sold out concerts around the world, was inducted into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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 torn between social expectation and her own awakening desires, will Lucy choose a life of propriety or one of authenticity?