The Australian Ballet's 2027 Season Brings Back Cinderella After 47 Years
Five productions, three cities and a Frederick Ashton classic not staged here since the 1980s. Here's everything in the Australian Ballet's newly announced 2027 season.
The Australian Ballet has announced its 2027 season, and the standout is a genuine rarity: Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, returning to Australian stages for the first time in 47 years. It's the anchor of a five-production season that runs across Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide through the year.
Swan Lake
The season opens with David Hallberg's interpretation of Swan Lake, one of ballet's most performed and most scrutinised works, which makes each new staging worth watching for what a choreographer or artistic director chooses to keep and what they rework.
- Melbourne: 16 to 27 March, Ian Potter State Theatre
- Sydney: 9 to 28 April, Joan Sutherland Theatre
Kunstkamer
Kunstkamer has become something of a modern classic since its debut, a co-production built around a "cabinet of curiosities" structure that gives multiple choreographers room to work within one production.
- Sydney: 6 to 19 May, Joan Sutherland Theatre
- Melbourne: 11 to 19 June, Ian Potter State Theatre
Mayerling: an Australian premiere
Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling gets its Australian premiere in this season, running in Melbourne only from 29 June to 10 July at the Ian Potter State Theatre. Mayerling is a dense, dramatic full-length work based on a real royal scandal, and its Australian debut alone makes 2027 a notable year for local ballet audiences, quite apart from Cinderella's return.
Cinderella: the headline
Frederick Ashton's Cinderella last played in Australia 47 years ago, which puts its return well outside living memory for most people planning to see it now. Ashton's choreography is considered one of the classic tellings of the story in the ballet repertoire, and its rarity here has been the centrepiece of how the Australian Ballet is promoting the whole 2027 season.
- Adelaide: 4 to 11 September, Festival Theatre
- Melbourne: 25 September to 9 October, Ian Potter State Theatre
- Sydney: 26 November to 22 December, Joan Sutherland Theatre
Modern Masters
The season closes with a mixed bill, Modern Masters, showcasing shorter contemporary works rather than one long narrative ballet, a useful contrast to Cinderella's classical storytelling.
- Melbourne: 16 to 23 October, Ian Potter State Theatre
- Sydney: 12 to 20 November, Joan Sutherland Theatre
Planning ahead
With five productions spread across three cities and running from March through December, the 2027 season gives plenty of lead time to plan around Cinderella specifically, which is likely to be the hardest ticket of the year given how long it's been absent from local stages. Full ticketing details are available at australianballet.com.au.
Source: Broadsheet
