WAAPA’s last season for 2026 is here, presenting an exciting program of new works, fresh interpretations and classic stories across the final months of the year.
From Saturday, October 10, to Thursday, November 19, the talent of WAAPA’s next generation of artists is on full display, accompanied by industry professionals from across Australia and the world.
Tickets are on sale now – explore the full program online, or read below for this season’s highlights.
Amped Up: WAAPA Contemporary Music Festival
SoundHouse, Wednesday, October 14 – Saturday, October 17
Featuring the 3rd Year Contemporary Music students, Amped Up sees audiences immersed in a celebration of creativity, collaboration and cutting-edge performance.
Not only do the students each present a unique set, but each performance is brought to life with the help of WAAPA’s Sound, Arts Management, and Lighting students, creating a fully realised and student-led live experience.
Music meets innovation over the three performances, where the bold artistry of the students produces genre-defying compositions and immersive staging for a truly multidisciplinary collaboration.
The Opera Gala
Government House Ballroom, Thursday, October 15
The glamorous Government House Ballroom will welcome the graduating Classical Voice students of 2026 for a night of arias, ensembles and choruses from the world of grand opera.
From Baroque marvels through to 21st-century masterpieces, the night will be enchanting – Caroline Badnall musically directs while Emma Matthews AM helms the performance.
Maria Schneider (USA) – Live at ECU City
McCusker Recital Hall, Friday, October 16 & Saturday, October 17
Seven-time Grammy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Maria Schneider is this season’s Premier Visiting Artist, bringing her world-renowned ensemble jazz pieces to ECU City.
As a Premier Visiting Artist, Schneider will collaborate with the WAAPA Big Band to perform her celebrated works for two nights in the McCusker Recital Hall – one of Perth’s newest and most acoustically advanced venues.
The concert promises to be a landmark event for not only WAAPA, but also for the wider jazz community. Audiences can expect Schneider’s works like Concert in the Garden, The Thompson Fields, and Data Lords, blending jazz and classical influences into musical narratives with themes spanning nature to digital culture and human connection.
The Bacchae
Flex Theatre, Thursday, November 12 – Wednesday, November 18
2026 sees the rebirth of the Bachelor of Performing Arts’ annual Generator project – a platform for large-scale collaboration between students and professional artists.
The Bacchae has been reimagined from Euripides’ ancient tragedy over two years by Yamatji/Noongar theatre artist Kylew Morrison and the graduating Performance Making Company, positioning the story into a contemporary Western Australian context. Power, ecstasy and belonging are grappled with in a new interpretation that asks what happens when old gods return to a country still finding its song.
Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn
Playhouse Theatre, Friday, November 13 – Wednesday, November 18
Based on the beloved Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film, Holiday Inn is all about putting on a show and falling in love.
The classic song-and-dance musical is performed by the 2nd Year Music Theatre students, in which crooner Jim Hardy leaves behind his life in showbiz for farm life in Connecticut. He falls for talented schoolteacher Linda, and they infuse their sleepy town with Broadway razzle-dazzle.
Holiday Inn is guaranteed to be a good time for everyone with a hit parade of Irving Berlin songs throughout – including highlights Blue Skies, Easter Parade, Steppin’ Out With My Baby, Heat Wave, Cheek to Cheek, and White Christmas.
Verge
Dance Theatre, Friday, November 13 – Wednesday, November 18
After Verge 2025 honoured Mount Lawley campus, Verge 2026 is set to celebrate WAAPA Dance’s first graduation performance at ECU City’s Dance Theatre with two new works for the Contemporary Dance students.
Working with the 3rd Year students is Tara Jade Samaya, returning to her alma mater after an illustrious career performing and creating in Europe and Australia. Another local WAAPA alumnus will create a new work for the 2nd Year cohort, while Ballet Coordinator Kim McCarthy recreates pastoral and village scenes from beloved ballet repertoire.
On The Beach
Aboriginal Performance Studio, Saturday, November 14 – Thursday, November 19.
Performed by the 2nd Year Acting students, On The Beach follows a small group of friends living in one of the last surviving outposts of civilisation after the planet has been destroyed by nuclear fallout. The characters are forced to choose between their loved ones and their duty to humanity when a mysterious distress call rings out across the Pacific Ocean.WAW
A poignant play reflecting on the indestructible power of human connection – love at the end of the earth.
Black Mary
The Derksen Studio, Saturday, November 14 – Thursday, November 19
The 2026 Aboriginal Performance students present Julie Janson’s Black Mary this November, based on the true story of Aboriginal bushranger Mary Ann and her partner, Captain Thunderbolt.
Janson’s plays have been nominated for an AWGIE Award and shortlisted for the Patrick White Award and the Griffin Award, and career-defining achievement Black Mary has been performed across the globe. In this drama, Mary Ann lives a life on the run from the troopers, but dreams of returning to live with her people. After witnessing their massacre, she plots her revenge.
WAAPA’s performance program continues through August to November, with tickets on sale for now Season 3 and Season 4 events at boxoffice.waapa.ecu.edu.au
