From the Fringe to Illuminate to its festivals, Adelaide continues to be a major arts hub.
Part of this is the thriving South Australian theatre scene. From jazzy musicals to takes on a Dickens classic, here – in chronological order – are our picks of the best theatre shows gracing Adelaide stages in 2024.
The Puzzle
The work of David Williamson, one of Australia’s most influential and celebrated playwrights, is known for its incisive commentary on sociopolitical issues. This dark comedy follows a bored married couple’s adventures with polyamory on a cruise, and a more reserved family’s shocking experience with a supposed art tour. The Puzzle is a raunchy exploration of family and desire.
The Puzzle runs September 20 to October 12 at the Dunstan Playhouse. Tickets are available online.
Grease
The leather jackets are on and the engines are roaring – time to escape winter with Danny and Sandy’s tales of summer loving. Young Australian stars Joseph Spanti (Danny) and Annelise Hall (Sandy) bring the lovestruck highschoolers to life in the local production of this iconic musical. The romp through ’50s culture and American high school life features some of the most memorable songs in musical theatre history: Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You and, of course, Greased Lightnin’.
Grease runs September 28 to October 13 at Her Majesty's Theatre. Tickets are available online.
Jack Maggs
Celebrated Australian author Peter Carey originally reworked Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations into his 1997 novel, Jack Maggs. Twenty-seven years on, South Australian playwright Samuel Adamson is bringing the story to the stage. Following Jack Maggs’s (based on Magwitch in the Dickens original) quest for his lost son, the play will pull you into Carey’s world of secrets and alliances. The fusion of Australian literary talent with Dickens’s narrative magic offers a refreshing new perspective on one of literature’s most celebrated stories.
Jack Maggs runs November 15 to 30 at the Dunstan Playhouse. Tickets are available online.
Ever wondered what happened before Peter came to Neverland? This musical is a prequel to the JM Barrie classic that delves into the back story of Peter, Mrs Darling (Wendy’s mother), Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. Peter and the Starcatcher premiered in the US in 2009 before heading to Broadway in 2011 and picking up Tony nominations. The Australian production will star Pete Helliar, Colin Lane, Alison Whyte, Paul Capsis, Olivia Deeble and Otis Dhanji.
Peter and the Starcatcher* runs from January 9, 2025 to January 25, 2025 at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre.8
Based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, the musical version ofSister Act stars Casey Donovan of Australian Idol fame. The musical follows the tale of Deloris, who sees a murder and is forced into witness protect in a convent, where she assists the nuns with their struggling choir group. Sister Act features original music from Tony and Oscar award-winner Alan Menken (Disney’s Aladdin, Enchanted, The Little Mermaid), whose soundtrack draws on Motown, soul and disco.
Sister Act runs from March 22, 2025 to April 6, 2025 at Festival Theatre, Adelaide.
The Dictionary of Lost Words – a co-production between State Theatre Company South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company – is back for a national tour after a successful run in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The play is based on the 2020 novel by Adelaide author Pip Williams. It tells the story Esme (played by Shannen Alyce Quan), who grows up in the scriptorium alongside lexicographers compiling the first Oxford English Dictionary, and her adulthood as a woman in the early 1900s.
The Dictionary of Lost Words runs from April 3, 2025 to April 17, 2025 at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre.
The Australian premiere of Tony Award-winning Kimberly Akimbo pairs theatre veterans Marina Prior, Casey Donovan and Christie Whelan Browne with music from composer Jeanine Tesori (Shrek, Fun House). The musical, which takes place in 1999 New Jersey, tells the story of a teenage girl living with a chronic illness, which causes her to age rapidly. It’s part teen rom-com, part heist caper – and all heart.
Kimberly Akimbo runs from July 8, 2025 to July 19, 2025 at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide.
This adaptation of author and activist Thomas Mayo’s book of the same name is a co-production between State Theatre Company South Australia and Queensland Theatre. The book compiles letters from First Nations men to their sons and presents them alongside Mayo’s own poetry. This world premiere production is brought to life by First Nations theatre makers Isaac Drandic and John Harvey, with Jimi Bani and Trevor Jamieson leading the cast. The play uses story and music to honour the importance of spirit and family connection in First Nations culture.
Dear Son runs from July 25, 2025 to August 16, 2025 at Odeon Theatre, South Australia.
Additional reporting by Kai Page.
This article was originally published on May 17, 2024 but was updated on October 8, 2024 to include additional plays coming to Adelaide in 2024 and 2025.
