Programming any theatre company season comes with a gamut of feelings, from excitement, trepidation, anticipation and satisfaction to, without doubt, pride.
For Black Swan State Theatre Company outgoing artistic director Kate Champion, season 2027 also arrives with the acute awareness she will no longer be in the hot seat to see the productions take to the stage.
“I’ll be keenly watching from afar, however, as I will continue to carry a vested interest in all the shows, particularly those by local writers,” Champion says, as Matt Edgerton prepares to take the helm of the company from January.
“As I’ve said since I took on the artistic director role, the quality of a production and the ambition of a script are the main drivers behind the vision of every season, and 2027 is no exception.
“I always aim to strike a balance between accessible, crowd-pleasing works and those that challenge and provoke.”
New stories and lots of WA artists sit at the heart of Black Swan’s 2027 season, with six productions — including two world premieres and three WA premieres — full of romance, intrigue, tenderness and escapism.
The year begins in March when A Room With A View descends on His Majesty’s Theatre, based on the novel of love and discovery by English author E. M. Forster, and reimagined by WA-raised playwright Grace Chapple.
Wicked Little Beasts at Subiaco Arts Centre in May by Perth theatre maker Gita Bezard is described as “part The Crucible and part Fleabag”.
Told through the eyes of 16-year-old Amelia, the monologue is about a mysterious illness striking a town, where schoolgirls are forced into their bedrooms without a logical cure for the mass hysteria.
Hellie Turner’s Sardines keeps the theatre company at Subiaco Arts Centre in June, as street kid Jason breaks into recluse Gloria’s house on New Year’s Eve 2002.
He is met with the unfriendly end of her rifle, and the two strangers go on to interrogate each other’s damaged pasts.
Winner of the Moliere award for best play, The Father is Black Swan’s first international play of the year, written by Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton, with the production opening at Heath Ledger Theatre in July.
Set in a Parisian apartment, the work explores mental degeneration as a man fights to hold on to who he is, and his daughter tries against all odds to help him.
Grace Chow writes and stars in The Noodle Shop On The Corner Of Fourth Street at Studio Underground in October.
The unpredictable theatrical adventure defies easy categorisation and features Chow playing workaholic journalist Maggie Wu, who journeys into a surreal and imaginative world of comic mystery.
The year finishes in November at Heath Ledger Theatre with Olivier award-winning, fast-paced comedy thriller The 39 Steps, adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and film by Alfred Hitchcock.
The theatrical farce features four actors taking on more than 130 characters.
“The cultural beating heart of a community is kept vibrant and relevant through the stories that reference, reflect and question the people and place it inhabits,” Champion says of the four out of six works by WA playwrights.
“I see it as the true sign of a mature, civilised and evolving population. New writing is at the forefront of how we make this aspiration a reality.”
She says The Father was chosen by incoming artistic director Edgerton, who will also direct the production.
“It’s an exquisite play with themes of fading identity associated with ageing and the impact on loved ones,” Champion explains.
“Many in our audience will recognise something of their own families in it. The writing threads humour throughout without shying away from the deeper content.
“The 39 Steps will be a wonderful vehicle to show off the dexterity and skill of four local actors while taking you on a wild ride on a Hitchcockian caper. It’s an entertaining blast of energy and fun for the end of the year.”
Champion currently has little time for reflection on her four years at the theatre company, given she has two more productions to stage in 2026 — Jacky, co-produced with Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, and a regional WA tour of The Pool.
“But I can honestly say that I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve through our previous four seasons,” she says.
“I’ve felt truly supported and appreciated here in WA, and I’ll keep that positive reflection as a precious memento into the future.”
General public tickets on sale from October 15 at blackswantheatre.com.au.