In this story of courage and bravery directed by Maryanne Sam ('Coconut Woman', Yirramboi Festival), a tip-off sparks a journey of Indigenous family survival, made by horse and cart under the cover of dark. Set against the racialized backdrop of 1940s Australia, a Ngarrindjeri family must make the impossible choice to leave home and country forever. “I wanted to write this play to honour family, legacy, the stories of survival of people from South Eastern Australia, and to honour my Nan and her journey” says playwright Brodie Murray.

Paul is trying to find a job. Snowy is trying to find himself. Fate, in the form of a cow named Sandy, has other plans. Iain Sinclair ('A View From The Bridge', MTC) directs the Australian premiere of Longman’s heartfelt black comedy, featuring Laurence Boxhall ('The Mousetrap', Comedy Theatre) and William McKenna ('Harry Potter and the Cursed Child').

Experience one of the greatest Chamber works ever composed in this unique performance of the Schubert String Quintet. Be immersed in a world of sublime lyrical euphoria and dark, profoundly unsettling angst as the struggle between life and death unfolds in the most extraordinary music ever written.

Mn’JAM experiment is an audio-visual project that uses technology in art to push boundaries. It’s not just a musical show because JAM (the visual artist) also plays images, plays lasers and plays lights. It’s not just a light show because music is being interpreted, improvised, and so are the lights. It’s not just electronic music although most sounds being generated are pretty much electronic and it’s not jazz although there is a ton of complex harmonies, rhythms, and a fair bit of improvisation on top of that. It’s a hybrid show that encapsulates the essence of cross art forms.

The 2023 Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award Winner, Rebecca Gulinello, presents a benefit and farewell concert as she embarks on her European journey.

'Literary Death Match', now in 73 cities worldwide, brings together a mix of four brilliant writers to read their most electric writing for five minutes or less before a live audience and a panel of three all-star judges.

It’s 1998. Deep in the Australian suburbs, we meet a fourteen year old girl who wants to be a witch, and an older man who claims he can teach her how. Directed by Alice Darling ('The Fence', Darebin Speakeasy), and featuring Matilda Gibbs and internationally acclaimed theatre-maker Daniel Schlusser, Mackey’s unflinching play demands a new narrative of gender, agency, and power.

Written and performed by Sally McKenzie ('Mortified', Nine Network), directed by Sean Mee ('Box the Pony', Sydney Opera House), with sound design by J. David Franzke, 'WAY' (included on the 2024 VCE Drama Playlist) uses filmed sequences and live performance to interweave the fictional journey of a documentary filmmaker with the lived experiences of four homeless women. “If you love theatre, see this” (Stage Whispers).

Thanks to our generous friends, neighbours, and colleagues, fortyfivedownstairs is excited to launch a fundraising raffle for our 2024 EOFY campaign. Scroll through the list of $9,000 worth of prizes below and support fortyfivedownstairs by purchasing a $30 ticket (or two or more tickets for $25 each) which will put you in the running to…

Ten years after the MUST production that launched the Bloomshed ensemble ('Animal Farm', Darebin Speakeasy), these award-winning theatre companies return to create a world class pyramid scheme with this reprised corruption of Gogol’s 'The Government Inspector'. A live theatrical seminar for the savvy entrepreneur, this is the only show that promises to double your investment (disclaimers abound)!

Two plays, one cast, a gorilla, and a dozen or so sheep. Presented by Calamity Practice, directed by Green Room Award winner Bob Pavlich ('The Winter’s Tale', La Mama), and performed by a cast of eight, this double bill of Australian plays blends the dramatic and the absurd in a search for truth and reason within the chaos. Both plays will be performed back-to-back on Saturdays and Sundays.

A celebration of performer Natalie Gamsu’s ('A Very Jewish Christmas Carol', MTC) strange and fearless life journey as she searches for meaning through diabolically funny and deeply personal anecdotes of tsuris, the yiddish word for pain. An evening of touching and highly entertaining storytelling directed by Stephen Nicolazzo ('Vampire Lesbians of Sodom') and featuring songs performed in Yiddish, Spanish, and English.

Olivia, a mother, pieces her late teenage daughter Molly’s life into a perfume. Directed by Cathy Hunt ('What Every Girl Should Know', Brunswick Mechanics), this surprising new queer work offers a sensory experience for audiences, employing scent to capture the play’s delicate interpretation of grief, decay, and blooming.

Featuring five celebrated performers - Nadine Garner (The Blake Mysteries), Kerrie Anne Greenland (Miss Saigon), Marty Alix (Hamilton), Anton Berezin (The Phantom of the Opera), and Glenn Hill (Matilda) - 'Elegies: A Song Cycle' takes audiences on a musical journey that explores the modern world that we live in and life’s infinite joys.

Based on the true stories of Holocaust survivors Krystyna Zywulska, a Polish dissident, and Gad Beck, a Jewish gay man, this Australian premiere production of renowned composer Jake Heggie’s 'Two Remain' is an exciting collaboration with Nightingale Opera in the USA, and an important reminder of the enduring power of love and humanity.