With eight out of 12 productions written by Australians, the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) will present a 2025 season rich with homegrown voices offering fresh perspectives on the unresolved legacies of colonisation, the complexities of love and the pursuit of truth and equality. Audiences can expect a program that speaks to our contemporary moment with urgency and humanity.
Themes of love, family, justice and identity are explored through the lens of the past and the present in Picnic at Hanging Rock; The Dictionary of Lost Words; Bloom; RBG: Of Many, One; The Talented Mr. Ripley; Whitefella Yella Tree; The Shiralee; and Congratulations, Get Rich! (恭喜发财, 人日快乐), with each production showcasing the diversity of Australian talent.
Writer, actor, Sydney Theatre Company resident director and proud Noongar man Ian Michael, will direct Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Writer, actor, STC resident director and proud Noongar man Ian Michael, who will direct Picnic at Hanging Rock, has dedicated his artistic career to the dynamics of live performance. “For me, most of my career has been in theatre,” he says. “I have an enormous appreciation and love for it. Its ephemeral nature captivates me, and I believe it’s what also captivates audiences.”
In an era dominated by screen culture that brings entertainment into living rooms, live theatre offers something more thrilling and shared. “The energy of theatre, its unpredictability, contributes to an experience that the screen can’t replicate,” Michael says. “In theatre, everyone – the audience, the performers, the creative team – must be fully present. The stakes are much higher. It’s a dynamic of spontaneity, community and expression, all coming together and happening live.”
Words and people; STC is dedicated to Australian culture
STC’s theatre makers might have international reputations, but the company is indelibly rooted in the uniqueness and diversity of Australia. Such a strong cultural identity requires the nurturing of Australian artists to create a theatre environment that listens as deeply as it tells its stories.
“At STC, we are always trying to prompt meaningful dialogues with audiences,” Michael says. “I’m so excited and grateful for the opportunities I’ve had here. I’m being challenged as an artist and invited to engage in active listening and truth telling.”
In 2022, Michael was named the Richard Wherrett fellow at STC, and has since directed Constellations in 2023 and Stolen in 2024 for the company. He is now a resident director.
“As a Noongar man, I carry the profound responsibility to contribute to this company that works to prioritise the development of First Nations work and the work of emerging artists,” Michael says. “I love being part of an institution that cultivates inclusive conversations.”
Pertame and Tiwi actor Joseph Althouse stars in Whitefella Yella Tree, Sydney Theatre Company.
A commitment to diverse and original voices is the very thing that makes theatre meaningful and vibrant across time, Michael says. “When you nurture new artists, you renew the understanding and appreciation of theatre. For me, it is an absolute privilege to champion authenticity and representation.”
For Michael, two crucial elements make for outstanding theatre. “The plays are all very much about words and people,” he says. “There is so much incredible Australian writing; I see what I do as creating a chamber for all these words. The audience receives them, takes them in and is affected internally and externally.”
A story you only think you know
In a highlight of the 2025 program, Michael will take on one of Australia’s most enduring stories, Picnic at Hanging Rock, adapted for the stage by Tom Wright from Joan Lindsay’s classic novel. This tale has evolved beyond literature into cultural myth, and Wright’s adaptation reshapes it for audiences who think they know the story of the vanished schoolgirls and teacher.
Kirsty Marillier and Olivia De Jonge star alongside each other in Sydney Theatre Company’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.
“As artists, we are constantly asking ourselves: why this play, why this story now?” Michael says. “This adaptation invites audiences into a world that is rich in history and is so alluring, yet compels us to ask: what are the consequences of disrupting sacred land?
“At its core, Picnic is grappling with identity. There is a line in the play, ‘Everything is a colony in 1900’; it says everything about the complexity of storytelling in this country.”
The 2025 season promises audiences immersive experiences in stories that reveal our collective troubles and joys. As Michael says: “This is the kind of theatre that makes you want to lean in to listen, because we must listen.”
