Welcome to NIDA - National Institute of Dramatic Art

Our June and October seasons celebrate eight productions that stretch from gender politics to geopolitics, caress to carnage, to the nature of theatre itself.

The seasons feature new Australian works, Australian premieres of bold new international writing, musical theatre, opera, and work at the intersection of film and theatre.

These productions are led by top Australian and international professional directors, and feature work from a new generation of Australian storytellers.

David Berthold
Artistic Director in Residence

JUNE SEASON

Sweeny Todd

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Music and Lyrics by

Stephen Sondheim

Book by

Hugh Wheeler

From an adaptation by

Christopher Bond

Directed by

Constantine Costi

Music Direction by

Andrew Worboys

Choreography by

Shannon Burns

A Musical Thriller

“Alright! You sir, you sir, how about a shave?”

Here is one of the American musical theatre’s greatest achievements, produced in theatres and opera houses around the world – a theatrically bold work full of soaring beauty, pitch-black comedy and stunning terror.

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Kindness

Kindness

Written by

Matthew Whittet

Directed by

Jessica Arthur

World Premiere

“I feel like I’ve got a hole in my chest...it’s getting bigger.”

Lukas isn’t in a good place. He hasn’t been for some time.

His friends Claude, Song and Dylan can’t sit by and watch anymore. Tenderly and patiently, they start to tell each other stories. Of the moments they all met. Of the times they were complete idiots. They tell these stories because they know their friend Lukas also needs to tell his. His life depends on it.

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Scenes with Girls

Scenes with Girls

Written by

Miriam Battye

Directed by

Imara Savage

Australian Premiere

“You are becoming a parody, hun… the human equivalent of a fucking Little Mix song.”

Tosha and Lou have each other. Other friends have come, got boyfriends, and gone. So what? Tosh and Lou are not interested in becoming clichés. They’ll never be like other girls. They won't sit in a narrative someone else thought up.

This is love. This is enough.

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The Writer

The Writer

Written by

Ella Hickson

Directed by

Zoë Hollyoak

Australian Premiere

“Does it scare you that the future might speak a language that you can’t understand?”

A young female playwright and an older male director find themselves alone in an empty theatre. She wants a new form of theatre that dismantles capitalism and overturns the patriarchy. He’s turned on by the commercial potential of her rage.

He flirts. She stares him down. She wants to do things her way.

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OCTOBER SEASON

Sandaime Richard

Sandaime Richard

Written by

Hideki Noda

Translated by

Robert Tierney

Adapted by

Ong Keng Sen

Directed by

Ong Keng Sen

Australian Premiere

“Our ears are filled with lies.”

In this witty satire of power, Shakespeare is put on trial for falsifying history and defaming Richard Sandaime (Richard III), the Grand Master of Ikebana.

The playwright will pit his wits against his prosecutor, Maachan. But who is Maachan? And who will win?

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Splendour

Splendour

Written by

Abi Morgan

Directed by

Nat Randall and Anna Breckon

“I select the best shot.”

An opulent drawing room in the Presidential Palace. Outside: civil war. A Western photojournalist awaits the return of the dictator. She is here to take his portrait. The dictator’s wife, her best friend and an interpreter wait with her. Prada shoes, vodka glasses and light fingers tap out the time. He is late, very late…

All four women harbour secrets and suspicions. All four are in danger. This is the day.

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A Very Expensive Poision

A Very Expensive Poison

Written by

Lucy Prebble

Directed by

Hannah Goodwin

Based on the book by

Luke Harding

“The second you start telling a story, you start telling a lie.”

Part biography, part spy drama, part absurdist nightmare, A Very Expensive Poison looks at the true story of the assassination by poison of Alexander Litvinenko by the Russian secret service in London in 2006.  

At this time of unnerving global crises and with the rumblings of a new Cold War, A Very Expensive Poison sends us careening through the shadowy world of international espionage from Moscow to Mayfair. In the strange convergence of global politics and radioactive villainy, a man pays with his life.

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Coronation of Poppea

The Coronation of Poppea

A co-production of NIDA and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Conducted by

Stephen Mould

Directed by

David Berthold

Music by

Claudio Monteverdi | Elena Kats-Chernin AO

Libretto by

Giovanni Busenello

Australian Premiere

The Coronation of Poppea – one of the great music dramas – charts the erotic and brutal politics of Nero’s Rome. Emperor Nero and his new love Poppea ruthlessly sweep aside anyone who stands in the way of their union. In this bloodthirsty drama, love triumphs. But at what cost?

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