Following its sold-out 2024 debut and runaway critical acclaim, My Brilliant Career has returned to Melbourne, opening its doors again at Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, from January 23 ahead of a national tour.
Directed by Anne-Louise Sarks, breakout musical My Brilliant Career reclaims Miles Franklin’s classic novel for this very moment. Reimagined on stage, literary heroine Sybylla Melvyn is fiercely intelligent and unapologetically ambitious, wholly uninterested in the future society expects of her.
Leading the production once again is Kala Gare (SIX), reprising her role as Sybylla Melvyn, joined by much of the original actor-musician ensemble. The performance is driven by a powerhouse score fusing contemporary pop, country, bush balladry and raucous pub-rock, with breathtaking design by Olivier and Tony Award-winner Marg Horwell.
Premiering in 2024 to sold-out houses and standing ovations, My Brilliant Career, created by Sheridan Harbridge, Dean Bryant and Mathew Frank, received five Green Room Awards including Outstanding Production, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with major commercial musicals in its debut year.
“The joy and energy in the theatre when we first premiered this show was unforgettable. We’ve taken an Australian classic and given it a bold new life,” says Artistic Director & Chief Executive Officer Anne-Louise Sarks.
“We’re kicking off Season 2026 by bringing My Brilliant Career back to Melbourne, where audiences embraced this story and Sybylla wholeheartedly. And then to get to take our show on tour right across Australia; its momentous. We’re making Australian theatre history.”
My Brilliant Career will play at the Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, from 23 January – 28 February, before playing at the Canberra Theatre Centre from 7 – 15 March; Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney, from 21 March – 26 April; and the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, from 8 – 17 May 2026. For more information, visit: www.mtc.com.au for details.
Image: The Cast of My Brilliant Career (Melbourne, 2024) – photo by Pia Johnson