For our first Theatre Group outing in 2026 join us for The Social Ladder.
The Story
Katie doesn’t want a taste of the high life — she wants a seat at the table. When she invites elite Sydney power couple and art collecting heavyweights, Charles (Andrew McFarlane) and Catherine Mallory over for dinner, Katie’s all in. She’s betting big on charm, fine wine and a jaw-dropping painting she’s hired to add a stroke of “wow” to the walls. She’s got one chance to climb the social ladder, and she’s not about to waste it.
As drinks flow and polite facades start to crack, the evening unravels into a night of lies, cover ups and social desperation.
The Director – David Williamson
With his signature ‘satirical bite’, David Williamson AO dissects the fragile performance of status and the outrageous lengths we’ll go to just to be seen. This is a world premiere.
Cast of 6 includes Mandy Bishop, Sarah Chadwick, Andrew McFarlane, Matt Minto.
DATE: Saturday 31 January 2026
TIME: 3pm to 5pm
VENUE: Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall St, Kirribilli, NSW 2061
TICKETS: Purchase your ticket at the Ensemble Box Office at [email protected] or Tel 8918 3400
Cherry and Lou-anne have purchased tickets A17, A18
PRE-PERFORMANCE (Optional): Join us at the Ensemble Foyer Bar, which opens one hour before performance start time, unless we are successful in getting a table in the restaurant post-performance.
POST-PERFORMANCE (Optional): We are on a waiting list for an early dinner at Bayly’s Restaurant at the Ensemble. We will know closer to the time if we can get a table.
RSVP TO: Cherry Spoor at [email protected] and
CC to Lou-anne Folder at [email protected] BY 21 January 2026
THEATRE GROUP – Looking ahead in 2026
To enable you to plan your diary for 2026, below are the dates and selected plays for Theatre Group for the remainder of 2026. Newcomers to SWIC are very welcome – if you need help with booking or have any queries, please contact Cherry Spoor at [email protected] or Lou-anne Folder at [email protected]
| Date & Day | Play | Description | Theatre | Time | Seats (Convenors) |
| 9 February (Monday) | Purpose
Featuring actors Deni Gordon, Markus Hamilton, Tinashe Mangwana and Sisi Stringer |
Most awarded new American play of 2025, Purpose is a ‘merciless dissection of hypocrisy – you may have trouble catching your breath from laughing so hard.’ | Sydney Theatre Co.
Wharf 1 Theatre |
6:30pm | N8, N9 Balcony |
| 22 March
(Sunday) |
The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin
Cast starring: Simon Burke |
A landmark work of Australian theatre returns to the stage where if first sprung to inglorious life. This revival is a riotous, razor-edged tragicomedy and harrowing portrait of persecution. | Belvoir St Theatre in downstairs theatre – Griffin is temporarily housed here. | 5:30pm | General Admission |
| 19 April (Sunday ) | Sistren | Sistren is that rarest of things: a play that feels like a true original. Chaotic, sprawling, yet laser – focused, it’s like chugging five cans of Red Bull, then doom-scrolling with YouTube. It’s Cosmic, Outspoken, Fab. | Belvoir St Theatre in downstairs theatre – Griffin is temporarily housed here. | 5:30pm | General Admission |
| 24 May (Sunday) | Savior | A typhoon hits the Philippines and local project officer, Michelle, lands her dream assignment. It’s her first time co-ordinating a global relief effort for a sleek American NGO. Satire. Disaster. Tinder. | Belvoir St Theatre in downstairs theatre – Griffin is temporarily housed here. | 5:30pm | General Admission |
| 21 June (Sunday) | The Roommate
Cast of 2 includes Lucy Bell |
A dark comedy about two very different women, who clash, reinvent themselves and discover that sometimes the biggest risk is opening the door to change. | Ensemble Theatre | 5:00pm | C13, C14 |
| 26 July (Sunday) | Doubt: A Parable
Cast includes: Sam Worthington and Pamela Rabe |
Stage and screen icons Sam Worthington and Pamela Rabe go head-to -head in one of the most iconic and electrifying plays of the 21st century. A drama wrestling with the gaps between belief and truth… | Sydney Theatre Co
Roslyn Packer Theatre |
2:00pm | C22, C23 Circle |
| 30 August
(Sunday) |
Runt
From the novel by Craig Silvey |
For anyone aged 8 to 108, Craig Silvey’s funny and touching tale of the hoops all of us – human and canine – must jump through. It’s a tale of the small taking on the mighty. | Belvoir St Theatre | 5:00pm | D17,D18 |
| 8 September (Tuesday) | Housework
Cast: With Susie Youssef (Deadloch, The Project), Emily Taheny (Mad as Hell) and the multi-talented Indira Naidoo |
Brought to brilliant life by some of Australia’s most beloved comic actors, Housework follows a group of political dynamos through the back stabbing and backroom deals of a high-stakes sitting week in Canberra, whilst balancing family crises just as frantic. | Sydney Theatre Co Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre | 7:30pm | T12, T13 Stalls |
| 22 October (Thursday) | The Year in Tatters
Cast includes: Andrew Hansen (The Chaser), Mark Humphries (7.30), Chris Taylor (The Chaser) and Christie Whelan Browne (Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell) |
The revue tradition returns to Sydney as four of Australia’s sharpest comedic performers cast a satirical eye over the highs and lows of 2026!
And they fearlessly skewer the year in politics, culture and everything in between.
|
Ensemble Theatre | 8:15pm | D41, D42 |
| 9 November (Monday) | Strong is the New Pretty
Written by the celebrated Australian playwright, Suzie Miller, who wrote RBG, Of Many, One, Prima Facie and Inter Alia, Suzie Miller. |
In 2010, an official report into the state of Australian Rules Football recommended the creation of a national women’s league. Seven years later, the AFLW was born. This is the untold story of how the league went from a pipe dream to a sensation the sports world could no longer ignore. | Sydney Theatre Co Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre | 6:30pm | Q16, Q17 Stalls |
| 2 December (Wednesday) | The Gospel According to Paul. (The Second Coming)
|
Exploring the former PM’s political achievements and personal obsessions, The Gospel According to Paul shines light on a man who approached economics as an artform, and demanded we confront the wrongs of our past. | Sydney Theatre Co
Wharf 1 Theatre |
7:30pm | M11, M12 Balcony |
