Five Hown Grown Australian musicals in 2024

Musical theatre fans often flock to Broadway or the West End to see the curtain rise on the latest new work. However, your next favourite Musical may be right on your doorstep. Australian artists have brought so many stories to the stage, musicals like Matilda, Muriel’s Wedding, Beetlejuice, Groundhog Day, The Sunshine Club, The Boy from Oz, Ladies in Black, Strictly Ballroom and Fangirls, just to name a few. Let’s look at five new Australian musicals taking the stage this year. 

Zombie The Musical

Hayes Theatre’s 2024 season features multiple Australian Musical Theatre works. The first to hit the stage is Laura Murphy’s Zombie The Musical. Following Murphy’s success in 2022 with The Lovers, the eagerly awaited Zombie is described as 42nd Street meets the Zombie apocalypse. Weaving together troupes from cult-classic zombie cinema with musical theatre. Set in the 90s, Zombie features pop-style music influenced by the time while genre-blending to pay homage to traditional musical theatre musicality. This contemporary musical features a spectacular cast: Natalie Abbott, Tamsin Carroll, Chelsea Dawson, Nancy Denis, Adam Di Martino, Ryan Gonzalez, Stefanie Jones, Drew Livingston and Monique Sallé. Zombie the Musical played at Hayes Theatre from the 8th of March to the 6th of April. 

Black Box

Black Box is the biographical tale of Australian inventor David Warren. This true story follows David’s journey to create a way to record flight data. He is obsessed with the development of a black box, driven by his childhood memories of a plane crash that took the life of his Dad. The sound design for Black Box is equally intriguing. Slated as the first binaural musical, Black Box goes beyond ‘object-based mixing’ sound design and, through headphones, will be immersed in a 360-degree world of sound as they experience David’s memories and story. Written by Paul Hodge, Black Box cast Michale Cormick, and Helen Dallimore take the stage in the Cremorne Theatre at QPAC from 10th to 19th May. 

Straight From the Strait

Straight from the Strait, written by Norah Bagiri and Rubina Kimiia, tells the inspiring true story of the Torres Strait Islander workers who laboured tirelessly to build the Mount Newman railway in 1968, breaking construction records still held today by building 7km of track in a single day. Featuring a fusion of Torres Strait Islander and contemporary music, the musical transcends boundaries, combining the languages Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya and Torres Strait Creole with English. Presented by Opera Queensland, Yumpla Nerkep Foundation and Queensland Performing Arts Centre in association with Brisbane Festival. Be quick to get tickets to this one. Straight from the Strait will run in the Playhouse QPAC for an extremely limited three-day run from the 29th to the 31st of August.

Flat Earthers: The Musical

Filled with contemporary music combined with chaotic and creative energy, Flat Earthers brings to life the excitement, anticipation and sometimes horror of online dating. We meet Ria and Flick, two love-struck lesbians dating on the dark web where everything is possible. But can a ‘Flat Earther’ and a ‘Globe Earther’ really fall in love? Described as West Side Story-meets-QAnon queer electro-pop spectacular, Flat Earther’s is a satirical look at political division and is set to be a hilarious and empathetic rom-com not to be missed. Flat Eathers is written by Lou Wall, Jean Tong and James Gales, onstage at Hayes Theatre from the 11th of October to the 9th of November.

Round the Twist: The Musical

Every Australian kid in the 90’s knew this iconic children’s TV series based on the Paul Jennings books. The Twist family are returning, making the leap from screen to stage. Round the Twist The Musical will feature the same characters we grew to love, the Twists, Tony and his three kids, Pete, Linda and Bronson, protecting their home from the greedy Gribbles. Whether seeking childhood nostalgia or a new Australian musical based on an iconic Australian series, you can’t surpass Round the Twist The Musical. Written by Paul Hodge and directed by Simon Phillips, this Queensland Theatre production is sure to entertain. Play at the Playhouse QPAC from the 12th of November to the 1st of December.