New theatre festival sparks division and dismay in trans community

2 hours ago 1

An event that should have been a moment of celebration and community has instead sparked division and dismay, as the newly announced line-up of the inaugural Trans Theatre Festival has prompted criticism from Melbourne’s trans theatre community due to a lack of local representation and a clash of dates with Midsumma Festival.

Of the four headline shows that have been announced, three feature international acts and the remaining one is an event by Sydney creatives Zoe Terakes and Declan Greene. The accompanying program of masterclasses and symposiums also do not feature any Melbourne artists.

The inaugural Trans Theatre Festival is co-presented by Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre and Green Door Theatre Company and Carriageworks in Sydney.

Described as the “first national theatre festival dedicated entirely to the voices and visions of trans and gender diverse artists”, Trans Theatre Festival is a co-production between Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre and Green Door Theatre Company and Carriageworks in Sydney.

Midsumma Festival, Australia’s leading queer arts festival, has been a fixture on Melbourne’s cultural calendar since 1989, and will run from January 18 to February 8. Trans Theatre Festival will run at Malthouse Theatre from January 21 to 31, following its Sydney season.

Bethany J Fellows, a Melbourne-based multidisciplinary artist, is concerned about the lack of representation of local creatives in a festival that claims to be national. “Trans theatre in Melbourne is thriving, yet our main stage companies continue to shut us out. It isn’t for lack of ambition or persistence – we’ve been offering bold work and proven audiences for years,” Fellows said.

Award-winning Filipino trans theatre-maker Dax Carnay-Hanrahan was another who expressed concerns after the shows were announced. “I was concerned that they claimed to be a national trans theatre festival, but it’s all work from Sydney or internationals,” Carnay-Hanrahan told The Age.

‘When we are ignoring our own local scene – arguably the most vibrant in Australia – the optics are all wrong.’

Dax Carnay-Hanrahan, theatre-maker

Carnay-Hanrahan, who will be presenting a work-in-progress reading at the Malthouse during Midsumma – though not as part of Trans Theatre Festival – said “Melbourne has a thriving trans theatre scene, there’s shows on every week”.

“[Trans Theatre Festival] appeared to be an event from another state that’s come here supposedly to celebrate exactly what we do here already, but we are not being represented.

“It is disheartening that this is also being presented by a main stage company, when so often the main stages just ignore us and our voices. When was the last time you saw a trans person in a main stage production in Melbourne?”

Carnay-Hanrahan said the festival’s dates would mean many Midsumma Festival shows compete for the same audiences. But as independents with “nowhere near the tools nor funding” at the disposal of main stage venues such as the Malthouse Theatre, “it will be impossible to compete really. This just exemplifies how detached from independent and grassroots theatre our publicly funded main stage companies have become.”

Award-winning Filipino trans theatre-maker Dax Carnay-Hanrahan in a scene from Ken’s Quest.

Carnay-Hanrahan is, however, supportive of the idea of “a national trans theatre festival – it would be great. But when we are ignoring our own local scene – arguably the most vibrant in Australia – the optics are all wrong.”

Trans theatre-maker Ro Bright agrees. “We have incredible trans theatre-makers here in Melbourne – people like Stone Motherless Cold, Ari Angkasa – all these incredible world-class artists.

“We are in major festivals around the world, winning awards at Edinburgh Fringe, we are incredible here. I think things like this happen because people aren’t looking to the incredible work being done locally. They are missing out, as we are vital to the evolution of theatre and culture.”

Both Carriageworks and the Malthouse Theatre declined to comment when asked about the clash of dates with Midsumma, and the lack of Melbourne creatives included on the program so far.

Green Door Theatre referred The Age to a video statement from Trans Theatre Festival producer Leila Enright.

“We’ve heard that there is real, valid disappointment in not seeing Melbourne-based artists included in the first announcement,” Enright said. “It was always our plan to include Melbourne voices, the fact that this was not clear in our announcement is on us … We missed the mark in communications here and we are so sorry for the hurt we caused.”

Enright also acknowledged that Green Door Theatre were “Sydney [theatre] makers coming into a context where trans work has not been platformed by main stages in the way they should be in Melbourne”.

Enright said while the festival would be held in Melbourne, it was part of a tour “prepared for Sydney and built with NSW funding”, but there were “more Melbourne opportunities yet to be announced”.

Midsumma Festival chief executive Karen Bryant at the 2024 Midsumma Pride March in St Kilda.

Midsumma Festival chief executive Karen Bryant said: “There is potential for main stage and presenting organisations to do more to support trans, gender-diverse and all other LGBTQIA+ independent artists.

“This is especially important at such a difficult time for many in our communities, arising from the impact of global trends that empower discrimination and feed misinformation and hurtful division amongst our communities.

“Trans and gender diverse programming is a strategic priority for Midsumma and we have worked for many years to increase opportunities for trans and gender diverse artists.

“With this in mind we have been involved in discussions with artists from the Trans Theatre Festival for many months. As an arts festival committed to inclusion and visibility for all parts of our diverse communities, and to the development of queer artists and art forms across Australia, we previously offered support and a place in our curated program for this program, to be a part of our curated program for 2026.”

Green Door Theatre Company and Midsumma discussed programming as part of the curated Midsumma Presents arm of the festival over the first six months of 2025. But, citing Midsumma’s past funding partnership with Amazon, Green Door Theatre chose to pull out of the partnership. Midsumma has confirmed “Amazon was not a partner at the point of discussion”.

Bryant confirmed that though Amazon was previously a funder, but were “not current funding partners” due to budget restraints.

Following Midsumma Festival’s confirmation about Amazon no longer being tied to the 2026 season, Enright confirmed that a “partnership with [Midsumma Festival] would no longer contravene our ethical partnerships policy, and we were very happy to accept their invitation to now be part of the festival”.

Bryant said: “Whilst we were unable to finalise any agreement with them in time for our initial program deadline we are continuing discussions and are confident we can work together within our broader program to ensure the best possible outcomes for all.”

Midsumma Festival has also confirmed that Trans Theatre Festival would be mentioned in its online program.

Carnay-Hanrahan said: “If [Trans Theatre Festival] continues to follow through on its commitments, keep the dialogue open, and make sure the local Naarm scene is genuinely foregrounded, supported and encouraged, the community will see the integrity of the project. And when the community sees that integrity, they will show up.”

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