The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts is set to deliver a vibrant new program for their third season of 2026, featuring standout performances, visits from alumni and international artists and bold takes on beloved classics.
Season 3 runs from Monday, July 27 to Thursday, September 24, performing the majority of events at the state-of-the-art ECU City Campus. Tickets are on sale now.
Read below for our must-sees this season, or head to our events guide to explore the full program.
KUČKA
The Dersken Studio, Friday, July 31
Singer, songwriter and producer KUČKA performs a one-night-only set in the new Dersken Studio as a Visiting Artist, returning to her alma mater and sharing her distinctive electronic style with her hometown.
Studying Composition and Music Technology at WAAPA, KUČKA has gone on to collaborate with artists like Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Flume and SOPHIE.
In this special concert event, KUČKA takes over the Dersken Studio, a purpose-built space at the new City Campus designed to support experimental audio-visual performances. A sophisticated spatial audio mapping system and high-spec projectors are just some of the capabilities of the studio – it only makes sense for an artist of KUČKA’s calibre to make the space their own this season.
Karin Schaupp: The Feeling of Home
Thursday, August 13, McCusker Recital Hall
Internationally-celebrated and ARIA award-winning guitarist Karin Schaupp is another one of Season Three’s Visiting Artists.
She’ll bring a program spanning centuries and styles, from Bach, Schubert and Tárrega to Australian compositions from Joe Chindamo and Richard Charlton, plus new pieces written especially for Schaupp by Ross Edwards, Phil Moran and Tara Lynam.
The performance will be a rare opportunity to experience the “beyond comparison,” (Rhein Main Presse) and “electrifiying,” (Australian Stage) playing of Schaupp, and the beauty of solo guitar.
TILT: Festival of the New
Wednesday, September 2 – Saturday, September 12, The Blue Room Theatre
WAAPA’s graduating Performance Making students hit the state at full tilt, showcasing their creative talents over two distinct programs in September at the Blue Room Theatre in Perth’s Cultural Centre.
Inspiring, provoking, entertaining and eclectic, audiences will experience inventive stagecraft and highly original works from the next generation of theatre performers.
&Juliet
Friday, September 11 – Thursday, September 17, The Regal Theatre
A coming-of-age jukebox musical flips the script on one of the greatest love stories ever told, asking what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo?
The third year Music Theatre students prove there’s life after Romeo with 30 pop anthems by Max Martin as the soundtrack, including hits like Since U Been Gone, Roar, Baby One More Time, Larger Than Life, That’s The Way It Is, and Can’t Stop The Feeling.
With an extremely limited run at The Regal Theatre, you won’t want to miss Juliet’s second chance at life and love.
The Fairy Queen
Friday, September 11 – Thursday, September 17, Playhouse Theatre
Classical Voice Students and the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra present The Fairy Queen, Baroque composer Henry Purcell’s greatest work, and one of the most lavish theatrical productions of the period.
Loosely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the semi-opera sees an ensemble cast of singers, dancers, musicians, stage machinists and actors show off their skills in the new Playhouse Theatre.
This production marks the inaugural performances in the Playhouse Theatre at ECU City Campus. The venue is a traditional proscenium arch designed for a broad spectrum of performance disciplines, opening in September with the varied, large ensemble run of The Fairy Queen.
3 Winters
Saturday, September 12 – Thursday, September 17, Flex Theatre
3 Winters is a portrait of a family over seventy years, spanning shifting identities, love, loss, survival and changing notions of freedom across different regimes in Zagreb, Croatia.
Winner of the 2015 Susan Blackburn Prize, the play is intimate and deeply human, ambitiously approached by the 3rd Year Acting Students as they explore how private lives are shaped by history.
A Love Supreme: Celebrating John Coltrane’s 100th Birthday
Wednesday, September 23, SoundHouse
WAAPA’s Jazz Department proudly honours the life and legacy of John Coltrane on the centenary of his birth.
The retrospective performance features a curated exploration of Coltrane’s most celebrated works as perhaps the most influential figure in jazz music. From the lyrical Lush Life to the spiritually deep A Love Supreme, the program traces Coltrane’s artistic evolution and enduring impact.
WAAPA’s outstanding Jazz students will pay tribute to Coltrane’s innovation through the interpretation of his music and fearless improvisation.
