Muriel’s musical makeover is just one of the highlights in a fresh, bold and diverse season.

Sydney Theatre Company has launched its 2017 season with a blockbuster new musical, some classic Chekhov and a host of plays from writers fresh and established, both at home and overseas. While Muriel’s Wedding looks set to catch the headlines, new writing that explores the experience of Australian Thai and Indigenous communities, the British hit play Chimerica, John Bell in Florian Zeller’s The Father and Colm Tóibín’s The Testament of Mary are just some of the intriguing ideas in a programme that offers a deal of fresh insight and unusual perspectives. Add to that a new Upton Chekhov (The Three Sisters), plus hits like Griffin Theatre’s The Bleeding Tree and a radical 1984 fresh from London’s West End, and STC 2017 should have Sydneysiders reaching for their diaries.

^{Jason Chong and Mark Leonard Winter in Chimerica. Photo by James Green}

Of course, this was always going to be the season to watch. The departure of former Artistic Director Jonathan Church several months ahead of...