DANCING AT LUGHNASA at NEW THEATRE NEWTOWN

BY BRIAN FRIEL

PUBLICITY CONTENT POSTED 14 APRIL,2026

21 April – 16 May 2026

“I want to dance, Kate. It’s the Festival of Lughnasa. I’m only thirty-five. I want to dance.”

It’s the summer of 1936, during the pagan festival of Lughnasa, and young Michael watches his five aunts navigate the fragile joys and looming hardships of rural Irish life. Brief moments of freedom, hope, and love flicker through the household only to be threatened as economic pressures and family upheaval close in.

Widely regarded as Brian Friel’s masterpiece, this semi-autobiographical memory play is a haunting and affectionate portrait of five unmarried sisters whose fierce spirit and resilience shine even as their world begins to change forever.

“Exquisite… a finely crafted memory play… an exploration of nostalgia… the way we choose to reconstruct the past.” The Guardian

CAST

NEW THEATRE TESTIMONIALS

New Theatre was the proud recipient of the 2016 ACON Honour Award for Arts & Entertainment.
The citation read: “New Theatre has not only provided a unique platform for LGBTI stories to be told on the stage, but has also fostered the careers of hundreds of LGBTI theatre practitioners. New Theatre has been nominated for their 25-year commitment to LGBTI content and productions for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and for recognising diverse sexualities and genders as an important demographic within the theatre’s community and audience.”

In 2007, New Theatre was honoured by the National Institute of Dramatic Art for its contribution to the Australian Performing Arts and 75 years of continuous production.

“That it is New Theatre that finds the wherewithal to produce contemporary work with a cast larger than ten on a consistent basis tells us something of that company’s commitment to good and significant writing” – Kevin Jackson

“New Theatre has an admirable tradition of staging plays that commercially focused companies wouldn’t touch” – Time Out Sydney

“New Theatre was born from the ideal of wanting to provide the opportunity and avenue for one and all, where raw artistic expression would be encouraged, embraced and showcased. They should be applauded for their passion and fortitude” – www.weekendnotes.com

“New Theatre’s ability to showcase as well as nurture both mainstream and fringe elements of theatre is a rare gift to be treasured by the Australian arts community” – Inner West Courier

“One of my favourite things about New Theatre is its endlessly optimistic belief in its audiences’ intellect. Of all the places to attend theatre, only The New constantly offers an acerbic wit under-laced with an idealistic buoyancy that refuses to sink to a cookie-cutter-TV-watching passivity to which almost all theatre has felt compelled (at some time or another) to acquiesce in the name of being ‘entertaining.” – Lisa Thatcher

tickets

Full $45
Concessions, Groups (6+) $40
New Theatre Members $30
Thrifty Thursdays $30
Preview $25
(booking fees apply)

Dancing at Lughnasa