Matthew Lutton unveils a brave and bold line-up that looks set to thrill.

When Matthew Lutton took over as Artistic Director at the Malthouse Theatre earlier this year he said he wanted the Company to be “entertaining, subversive, sexy and provocative”. And it seems his first season of work has been carefully curated to achieve exactly that.

Meow Meow

It kicks off on a high note with the delectable Meow Meow bringing to the stage her version of the Little Mermaid. She’s a performer that Lutton describes as a theatrical and musical maverick and one that had critics and audiences captivated with her Little Match Girl back in 2011. Directed by Micheal Kantor and featuring Hugh Sheridan and the aptly named Sirens Orchestra, it’s a show that will undoubtedly be a crowd pleaser.

Another story turned for the stage follows with an ambitious, first-ever staging of Picnic at Hanging Rock. Lutton will direct Joan Lindsay’s haunting tale, adapted by playwright Tom Wright, and says, “This novel has embedded itself in our national psyche, and still...