Hayes Theatre Co Announces 2027 Season and Leadership Transition

Hayes Theatre Co has unveiled its 2027 season, the final year under Co-Artistic Directors Richard Carroll and Victoria Falconer, who will step down after five years. The season includes an expanded national tour of Phar Lap: The Electro-Swing Musical opening at Carriageworks, the premiere of Mack The Knife at Sydney's new Foundry Theatre, and at its 111-seat Kings Cross home: the Australian premiere of Swept Away, new productions of Next to Normal, Be More Chill, and a Bridgerton-style reimagining of Mozart's Così fan tutte. The Festival of New Work expands to three weeks, and the Winter Cabaret Festival returns as Flare. Carroll and Falconer, who have led the company since the artistic director role was created, emphasize Hayes' role as an intermediary between independent and commercial theatre, citing productions like Assassins, In The Heights, and Little Shop of Horrors that outgrew the venue, and Calamity Jane, which transferred to Belvoir St Theatre and later Sydney Opera House. They highlight the importance of supporting independent producers and developing Australian work, such as Mack The Knife, created with Jordan Shea, which transforms Brecht's The Threepenny Opera into a rock-cabaret set in an immersive Kings Cross-inspired world. The company's alumni include performers who have gone on to national tours and Opera Australia, with Falconer describing Hayes as a 'hierarchy leveller.' The 2027 program is now available.