Sydney’s Seymour Centre’s 2027 season will feature five major theatre productions, including a world premiere and two Australian premieres, alongside a broader program of music, comedy, talks and participatory events.

The first full program from artistic director Joanne Kee signals a shift in the venue’s programming, with greater emphasis on activities and opportunities for audiences to spend time in its public spaces.

Kee describes her vision as making the Seymour a place where people can meet, discover new work and engage with ideas, as well as attend performances.

“I want Seymour to be somewhere you come for more than just a show, somewhere you can discover something unexpected, meet friends, hang out and feel part of a community.”

Joanne Kee, Artistic Director for the Seymour Centre. Photo © Stefanie Zingsheim/University of Sydney

The centre’s regular programs include the return of Cabaret, Cocktails & Karaoke and Seymour Sounds, which presents free live music from established and emerging artists in Sydney’s nu-jazz and neo-soul scenes.

The Seymour Explores talks series will feature writers, satirists and thinkers, with events including The Chaser Report Live (a monthly Thursday night podcast with Charles Firth and Dominic Knight recorded in front of a live audience, with special guests and an audience Q&A) and Felicity Castagna’s literary high tea, Eat Your Words.

Other events include Every Wild Idea, a collaboration with Critical Path in which audiences move through the venue as artists create and improvise, and Harbour Voices, a new partnership with Opera Australia marking 15 years of Opera on Sydney Harbour with a community singalong.

On stage

The theatre season opens in February with the Australian premiere of Azan Ahmed’s Statues. The play follows an English teacher who, after his father’s death, discovers a mixtape revealing that his apparently unremarkable parent was once a London rapper in the 1990s. Meanwhile, a student’s interpretation of Hamlet tests the teacher’s loyalties.

Sam Kissajukian: 300 Paintings. Image supplied

In May, comedian Sam Kissajukian brings 300 Paintings to Sydney following international seasons. Nominated for a Drama Desk Award, the work combines comedy, visual art and personal storytelling, drawing on the six months Kissajukian spent producing 300 paintings during a manic episode. Selected works will be displayed in the Seymour’s foyer.

Sydney independent company Secret House returns with Brian Friel’s adaptation of Turgenev’s A Month in the Country, directed by Anthony Skuse. Set on a country estate, the play follows a series of romantic entanglements sparked by the arrival of a young tutor.

Offset (Kimie Tsukakoshi). Photo supplied

September sees the world premiere of Offset, a new play by Australian writer Anchuli Felicia King (White Pearl). A Seymour Centre and La Boite Theatre co-production, directed by Monica Sayers and starring Kimie Tsukakoshi, it follows a late-night encounter between a real estate agent and an electrician that develops into a darkly comic exploration of class, connection and power.

The production marks a new commitment to developing and touring original work, with Seymour planning to create a major in-house production each year.

The season concludes in November with the Australian premiere of Tena Štivičić’s 3 Winters, directed by Jeneffa Soldatic and starring Kym Wilson. Spanning seven decades of Croatian history, the family drama follows four generations of women through the political changes of monarchy, communism and democracy.

Family audiences are catered for in July with The Luck Child, starring Sydney Theatre Award-winning performer David Collins (of The Umbilical Brothers) in a production exploring destiny, kindness and self-belief.

For more information on the Seymour Centre in 2027, visit seymourcentre.com