The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre has unveiled its 2026 season, promising a wide-ranging program of comedy, cabaret, drama, Shakespeare, Fringe Festival favourites, and family theatre, alongside a strong commitment to local artists.
Artistic Director and Programming Manager Jordan Best launched her sixth season for the venue on Monday night.
“Trying to figure out what audiences want these days sometimes feels like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube in the dark,” Best said. “But people have always loved stories. We want to feel something — to laugh, to cry, to see ourselves (or our complete opposites) up there on stage.”
Best said the 2026 season aimed to give audiences confidence that their time at The Q would be well spent. “Whether you want to laugh until your cheeks hurt, be swept away by a great story, or sit on the edge of your seat — we’ve got you.”
Comedy features strongly across the season. Sketch troupe Hot Department (5 February) celebrate five years of high-camp, genre-hopping comedy with a greatest-hits show drawn from their extensive catalogue of live work. Known for their chaotic physicality and queer absurdism, the duo have built a cult following in Australia and overseas, performing everywhere from Ballarat to London and New York.
Ukulele Death Squad (8 February) bring their irreverent mix of sea shanties, pirate ballads and musical chaos to Queanbeyan for a one-night singalong. Armed with ukuleles, brass and a deliberately unhinged sense of theatre, the award-winning eight-piece ensemble blends folk, funk, soul and pop into a raucous live experience that has made them a Fringe favourite in Australia and Europe.
Award-winning solo work also features prominently. After success at the Adelaide and Edmonton Fringe festivals, Lauren Brady’s SWAN? (25 March) is a darkly comic, genre-defying parody of Swan Lake. Part ballet, part clowning and bouffon, the one-person show reimagines the tragic ballet as a raunchy rom-com that skewers self-worth, desire and transformation.
Direct from Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre, Lose to Win (2 May) traces Mandela Mathia’s journey from South Sudan to the Australian stage, offering a powerful contemporary story of displacement, resilience and imagination, and celebrating the South Sudanese community in Australia with humour, warmth and directness.
Local artists remain central to the program through The Q’s Q The Locals initiative. The first local production of 2026 is The Good Boy Game (18–20 June), written by Patrick Vermillion and directed by Caitlin Baker. A world premiere, the darkly comic play centres on a teenage boy on the brink of committing an act of violence, and his parents’ desperate attempt to “de-radicalise” him. Part satire, warning and catharsis, it examines masculinity, radicalisation and the price of maintaining appearances.
Cabaret and contemporary performance are represented by The Strangeways Cabaret (4 July), an antics-fuelled show combining drag, song and storytelling to explore love, loneliness and desire. Created by a neurodiverse ensemble of actors and musicians, the cabaret finds the fantastical in everyday experience, mixing humour with surprising emotional weight.
In 2026, Best continues her commitment to Kids and Family programming at The Q, with a substantial slate of work aimed at younger audiences. Dummies Corp return following this year’s sell-out Trash Test Dummies with Splash Test Dummies (2–5 July), a high-energy circus show built around acrobatics, juggling, slapstick and physical comedy. Set on a beach-themed adventure, the production features the company’s trademark blend of narrative-driven circus and daredevil stunt work that has earned them awards at both Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringe.
The Listies’ This Show is a Joke! (17–19 July) is a rapid-fire hour of sketches, songs and barely contained chaos from Australia’s most successful children’s comedy duo. After nearly two decades of anarchic silliness, Matt and Rich promise what they describe as their most ridiculous show yet — a turbo-charged mix of fan favourites, cardboard props, questionable costumes and jokes pitched equally at kids and the adults sitting beside them.
The second Q The Locals production is Diamond (6 August), a new solo work by award-winning artist Liz Lea. Blending contemporary dance, cabaret, song and burlesque, the piece reflects on ageing, resilience and womanhood in a bold, unapologetic celebration of lived experience.
Adapted from Tim Winton’s beloved children’s book, The Bugalugs Bum Thief (17–18 August) brings to the stage the story of a town that wakes up to discover its bums have mysteriously vanished. The whimsical, literacy-based production combines music, physical comedy and storytelling to bring Winton’s eccentric world to life.
Youth-focused theatre continues with Australian Theatre for Young People’s Saplings (22 August), returning after a critically acclaimed season. Set to a hip-hop soundtrack created by young people in the youth justice system, the production offers a raw and poetic examination of accountability, vulnerability and survival.
Echo Theatre returns with Joanna Murray-Smith’s Bombshells (28–30 August), bringing the monologue cycle back to The Q ahead of a national tour. Later in the year, Echo also rounds out the program with an outdoor Shakespeare production, following the success of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth in recent seasons.
Family programming continues into spring with appearances by Mario the Maker Magician (3–4 October), whose internationally toured show blends vaudeville-style magic, slapstick and cardboard invention, and The Quizzical Mr Jeff (7 October), a visually striking circus–magic performance renowned for its precision object manipulation, illusion and near-wordless physical storytelling.
The final Q The Locals work for 2026 is Crims (19–22 November), a new physical theatre piece by Christopher Samuel Carroll inspired by true stories from Sydney’s 1920s underworld. Developed with a local ensemble, the world premiere promises a dark, high-energy exploration of crime, history and theatrical spectacle.
“We invite you to spend your time with us in 2026,” Best said. “May it be full of laughter, surprises, and prove that no matter what’s happening in the world, coming together to share a story is still one of the most powerful things we can do.”
The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, 253 Crawford St, Queanbeyan NSW 2620. Website: The Q. Tickets on sale now.
