LA BOITE LAUNCHES ITS FIERY AND FUNNY 2026 SEASON

La Boite Theatre takes a stand in 2026, unveiling a compelling program of mainstage works that promise resistance, rebirth and belonging.

Australia’s oldest and boldest theatre company turned 100 in 2025 and strides confidently into its next century with a 2026 Season grounded in big ideas and dreams, fuelled by fearlessness and filled with moments of profound beauty and understanding.

Playing La Boite’s iconic Roundhouse Theatre in 2026 are a modern reimagining of the Greek myth, Antigone; an apocalyptic buddy adventure with bite, Eat Slay Zombie; an out-of-this-world reflection on climate responsibility, Second Coming; and a search for identity and family in Koreaboo.

La Boite Artistic Director and CEO Courtney Stewart said the 2026 Season takes a fresh and exciting approach to addressing some of the complex, knotty issues facing the world today: power, politics, the environment, family, race and community.

“We want to have those conversations with our audiences in a way that holds on to the humanity, heart and even humour of what’s going on in the world,” Stewart said.

“Humour is not used in a way to undercut or take the heat out of the conversations but rather, it is akin to hope.

“If anything’s going to help us hold onto hope, to find the answers that we need to make meaningful change, we need to have that shared humanity and laughter to help us take in what’s happening, digest it, synthesise it, understand it and then act on it.”

The 2026 Season sparks to life with a dynamic retelling of Sophocles’ tragic Antigone (5 to 21 March), a story of protest and defiance with an iconic heroine – played by Maddie Burridge – who dares to stand up for what she believes is fair and just.

Stewart is adapting the classic text and co-directing with Nigel Poulton, an acclaimed fight choreographer making his main-stage directing debut.

“I’m really excited to strip back the text and see Nigel bring some of those big scenes to life physically. Having Antigone as a scrappy, tough, bolshy, young, woman will keep the fire burning in a classic play that scrutinises the fine line we tread between democracy and dictatorship,” she said.

Eat Slay Zombie (14 to 30 May) is a new work about friendship and finding your way in an inhospitable world by emerging Queensland playwright Alinta McGrady, directed by Lisa Fa’alafi.

Stewart said the re-developed work uses a fictional zombie apocalypse to address real-world issues such as colonisation, community and state occupation.

“La Boite is continuing to invest in contemporary First Nations voices, asking artists what stories they want to tell and how they want to tell them. There’s a big theme of resistance that runs through Eat Slay Zombie but this beautiful story of friendship and found family sits at the forefront,” she said.

Second Coming (6 to 22 August) is the third instalment in Queensland playwright Kathryn Marquet’s eco-feminist triptych, following acclaimed La Boite seasons of Pale Blue Dot and The Dead Devils of Cockle Creek.

Starring Ash Lollback and Anthony Standish, Second Coming follows geneticist Evie and her geologist husband Alan as they attempt to set up a sanctuary on Mars in the face of Earth’s environmental collapse.

“I’m excited about the conversations that this will spark around what right we have to take our problems elsewhere. Kathryn’s perspective on the climate crisis will pose some challenging questions and touch on our human need to hold on to things. It is exciting, horrifying, terrifying, larger-than-life and very funny,” Stewart said.

Season 2026 ends with the Queensland premiere of Koreaboo (2 to 19 September), a search for family and identity that mirrors the experience of acclaimed Australian performer Michelle Lim Davidson, making her writing debut.

“Koreaboo is a work of fiction but steeped in lived experience. Michelle has been quite open in her journey as an intercountry adoptee and has since made trips back to South Korea to try to connect with her birth mother. This play came out of that very personal line of inquiry,” Stewart said.

La Boite continues its dedication to artists and audience development in 2026 with the return of its Assembly program and its education initiatives.

Assembly is a six-month skills development program that supports emerging writers, directors and actors in creating a brand-new short work for the stage.

La Boite will also run an extensive program of in-school and in-theatre workshops, post-show Q&As and Stage Secrets, an initiative that pulls back the curtain to expose students to the myriad pathways into the theatre industry, from stage management to set design.

Second Coming is presented in partnership with PlayLab and Koreaboo is a Griffin Theatre Company production.