This winter HOTA, Home of the Arts will transform its outdoor stage into an intimate, immersive performance space unveiling its newest offering, Winter Season, inviting audiences to step inside for something new.
Over a seven week season the program will feature a curated program of theatre, comedy and music designed to bring audiences closer than ever to the action on stage.
Positioned inside the black box of the outdoor stage, Winter Season offers a stripped-back and deeply connected live experience, where every moment lands and the relationship between artist and audience takes centre stage.
Across eight standout works, the program invites Gold Coast audiences to experience a compelling mix of storytelling, sharp humour and powerful live performance, showcasing acclaimed and distinctive voices.
HOTA’s Director of Creative Programming, Felix Preval said the season offers a different kind of theatre experience for local audiences.
“The Winter Season is about bringing audiences closer to the work – physically and emotionally. In this space, every detail matters, and the connection between performer and audience becomes part of the experience itself,” said Preval.
Winter Season will bring audiences up close to experience performances including The Lark (8 – 12 July), with stage and screen icon Noni Hazlehurst in a new work by Daniel Keene along with Bron Batten’s real time encounter Onstage Dating (16 – 18 July), a live, unscripted interrogation of modern romance.
Visually intricate works Night Night (23 – 26 July) from theatre-makers Arielle Gray and Tim Watts, will blend puppetry and digital illusion, while re:group performance collective’s Auto-Tune (29 July – 1 August), reinvents gig theatre, in an explosive work exploring 90s nostalgia and self-reinvention.
Multi-award winning musical comedian Gillian Cosgriff will bring an irreverent meditation on existence, time, and the search for meaning in Life, Oh Life (6 – 8 August), while a chamber music collaboration with ABC Classic presenter Ed Le Brocq, Ensemble Q with Ed Le Brocq (9 August) will feature a contemplative exploration of sound and story;
Rounding out the final weeks of the seven week program will be the raw, one-person theatrical road trip, Truck Driver (13 – 15 August), exploring a darkly comic portrait of a life on the road, and Heartbreak Hotel (19 – 22 August) from New Zealand company EBKM featuring an inventive performance, combining pop music, science, and storytelling.
Beyond the theatre, audiences can extend the experience across the precinct, with dining and drinks available at Palette Restaurant and Exhibitionist Bar.
HOTA’s Winter Season runs 8 July – 22 August 2026. For more information, visit: www.hota.com.au for details.
Image: Night Night – courtesy of The Last Great Hunt