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A hit Brisbane play that had most of its final week cancelled due to Cyclone Alfred is returning in 2026 due to popular demand.
Queensland Theatre’s Pride and Prejudice sold out its entire run at QPAC in February and March this year, only to have four days of performances cancelled as the tropical cyclone approached Brisbane.
It was a cruel blow for the company, which desperately needed a hit after a problematic 2024, which included an entire show being cancelled days before opening due to an injury.
Pride and Prejudice will return to QPAC in July 2026.Credit: Morgan Roberts
Adapted from Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice was designed to put bums on seats – and was doing so, until weather conditions moved QPAC to cancel performances.
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“So 3500 people who bought tickets had to be refunded, which was, as you can imagine in this economy, quite unfortunate,” Queensland Theatre artistic director Daniel Evans said.
Evans said he recalled rain dripping onto the Playhouse stage during the show’s final performance, which only a quarter of ticket holders were able to attend.
“I remember being upset because we had worked so hard … I’ve never seen audiences react to a work like Pride and Prejudice.”
Evans said the Queensland Theatre box office had been receiving frequent inquiries about when the play might return.
Queensland Theatre artistic director Daniel Evans.Credit: Georgia Haupt
“So, next year we’re bringing it back. It’s a really lovely ending to that story,” he said.
Pride and Prejudice is one of four shows in the company’s 2026 season based on well-known IP.
The season opens in February with a new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, in collaboration with Brisbane’s Shake & Stir Theatre Company.
“Part of my job is to lure younger people into the theatre, so something that crosses over into the English syllabus will hopefully set a new generation on fire for live performance,” Evans said.
The Sapphires, Tony Briggs’ 2004 play about an Indigenous girl group entertaining Australian troops in Vietnam, is returning under the auspices of its original director, former Queensland Theatre head Wesley Enoch.
Like Gatsby, it has previously been adapted into a film.
Queensland Theatre will stage the world premiere of Suzie Miller’s play Strong is the New Pretty, about the formation of the AFLW.Credit: Queensland Theatre
Also familiar to movie-goers is the Stephen Sondheim fairy-tale musical Into the Woods, which was made into a 2014 film starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Chris Pine.
Queensland Theatre is collaborating with Opera Queensland and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra to stage the musical at the new Glasshouse Theatre.
“Brisbane is a musical theatre city, people absolutely adore the form, and there’s a wealth of musical talent in our backyard,” Evans said.
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Other highlights include the world premiere of Strong is the New Pretty, the new play by acclaimed Australian playwright Suzie Miller, whose earlier work, Prima Facie, won both Olivier and Tony awards.
“It’s a real-life story from behind the formation of the AFL Women’s League, and the players, mums, dads, who rallied to make sure that women have a league of their own,” Evans said.
Queensland Theatre season tickets are on sale now.
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