Jane Campion’s story of death and poetry comes thundering to the stage

1 week ago 2

At the edge of the city there’s a staircase that always leads somewhere different. Melbourne’s fortyfivedownstairs is a constantly evolving arts space that has been a home to independent theatre and visual art since 2002. Head one floor down and – usually – you’ll find an exhibition. Descend a bit further, however, and things start to get a bit more uncertain.

“I think some of the most magical experiences I’ve had at fortyfive have been when you walk in and feel like you’re discovering the space anew,” says artistic director Cameron Lukey. “You’re seeing it in a way you’ve never seen it before.”

It’s that feeling that Lukey is hoping to invoke for audiences in the newly announced Bright Star, an adaptation of the 2009 Jane Campion film of the same name. “The story is about the love between the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, and the inspiration both drew from that,” he says.

This will mark the first stage adaptation of Bright Star, and Lukey, who will also produce, turned to Emmanuelle Mattana, the playwright behind the darkly funny and highly acclaimed Trophy Boys, to write it.

“One of the challenges of adapting a film is that a film is made up of a lot of short scenes,” says Lukey. “So how do you elongate those scenes for the stage? How do you cut down all of the transitions? Without giving too much away ... I think Em has found a really beautiful way to do that.” He pauses. “I really think it has the potential to be something gorgeous.”

Bright Star is just one highlight in fortyfivedownstairs’ ambitious and wide-ranging 2026 program, announced today. “It’s my third program as artistic director, but I feel like it’s the first that has been several years in the making,” says Lukey.

He says that while at first glance the program may look eclectic – a blend of new and old shows, Shakespeare alongside debut work, return seasons, festival takeovers and adaptations – “it’s about creating as varied a program as possible that also feels like a representation of where independent theatre is at”.

Ben Whishaw as John Keats and Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campion’s Bright Star.

There are two productions by Melbourne Shakespeare Company – Eurydice and Antony and Cleopatra. In June, local creative Dax Carnay-Hanrahan will debut a new work, MR BIG aka Tatay, A Transwoman and That Tiring Tune!

Spinning Plates Co will conclude its “Beast Trilogy” with Year of the Rooster, which follows The Crocodile (2023) and Rhinoceros (2024). Rhomboid by Eric Jiang will have its Melbourne premiere in October. Lukey describes the story of friendship as “one of the best scripts I’ve read”.

Grace Chapple’s Never Closer in May is another Melbourne premiere, and “one of the few scripts I’ve read that genuinely shocked me”, says Lukey. The winner of the 2025 Green Room Award for Outstanding Writing, Ballkids (or, scenes from a friendship), will also have a return season.

Lukey’s hopes for the season extend beyond the performances. From his own experience producing theatre, “I realised the gap between the indie sector and the commercial sector is just enormous – and it made me wish that there was more of a middle ground”. So, with Bright Star he is hoping to lay some scaffolding.

“I really want to see if I can create a new model for independent theatre,” he says. In a practical sense, that means that there will be a bigger budget, tickets somewhere between independent and commercial prices, and a longer season – five to six weeks, the longest for a show in the space in the decade he has worked there.

“We’re also trying to pay our artists a little bit more than the standard indie show to reflect this attempt to create a new model,” says Lukey. “A lot of indie shows are based on the co-operative model, or an honorarium, a small fee, plus a box office share – and that will still be in play here. But we want to try to give the artists a bit more security as well.”

This ethos extends into other shows in the program, meaning many of them will run for three weeks rather than two.

“My hope is that if [Bright Star] is a success, it will lead to other similar productions and maybe improve the sustainability of the independent sector a little – that’s the idealistic hope.”

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