Class Act Productions is back with Oliver! JR. A 60-minute version of the beloved classic Broadway musical, adored by generations.  Featuring a cast full of Gippsland’s most talented youth, this musical will have audiences begging for “more!” 

Thursday 13 July | 7:30pm | GPAC Main Theatre

Friday 14 July | 7:30pm | GPAC Main Theatre

Saturday 15 July | 3:30pm | GPAC Main Theatre

Saturday 15 July | 7:30pm | GPAC Main Theatre

Sunday 16 July | 1:30pm | GPAC Main Theatre

Consider yourself at home with Oliver! JR., the Broadway Junior version of Lionel Bart's classic musical based on Charles Dickens' novel, Oliver Twist. The Tony and Olivier Award-winning show is one of the few musicals to win an Academy Award for Best Picture and is widely hailed as a true theatrical masterpiece by actors and audience members alike. 

The streets of Victorian England come to life as Oliver, a malnourished orphan in a workhouse, becomes the neglected apprentice of an undertaker. Oliver escapes to London and finds acceptance amongst a group of petty thieves and pickpockets led by the elderly Fagin.

When Oliver is captured for a theft that he did not commit, the benevolent victim, Mr. Brownlow takes him in. Fearing the safety of his hideout, Fagin employs the sinister Bill Sikes and the sympathetic Nancy to kidnap him back, threatening Oliver’s chances of discovering the true love of a family. 

Oliver! JR. is full of classic songs like "Consider Yourself", "Food Glorious Food", and "Oom-Pah-Pah", and is sure to have audiences leaving the theatre with them stuck in their head for days! 

The widely acclaimed debut play from London Laureate and poetry slam champion Zia Ahmed, I Wanna Be Yours, is a modern-day romance that asks whether love really is all you need.

Wednesday 7 June | 1pm | GPAC Main Theatre

By Zia Ahmed. Directed by Tasnim Hossain.

Haseeb and Ella meet at a performance workshop. From opposite sides of the Thames, he’s a poet and she’s an actor hired to help him with his enunciation. Their attraction is immediate. They start dating, get serious and fall in love. Soon there is each other’s family and friends to navigate, and then big questions about the future – moving in together, marriage, children. Does it matter that Haseeb is British–Pakistani and Ella’s a white girl from Yorkshire? Can their love surpass the cultural and physical boundaries between them?  

Through short, striking vignettes, Zia Ahmed builds an authentic and insightful picture of contemporary, cross-cultural courtship. Ahmed’s performance poetry background is evident in his evocative and playful use of language, imagery and symbolism, which combine for a delightful mix of humour, heartbreak and hope. A compelling and topical work of extraordinary vitality, this production of I Wanna Be Yours for Melbourne Theatre Company’s  Education and Families Program stars Oz Malik and is directed by Melbourne Theatre Company Resident Director Tasnim Hossain. It promises to be a powerful, lyrical and big-hearted night of theatre. The play shows Haseeb confronting racism with equanimity and resilience.  

Included on the 2023 VCE Playlist for Theatre Studies.

Photography credit: Jo Duck

Celebrating 15 years direct from a sell-out Broadway season, Cirque Mother Africa is returning to Australia in 2023.

Wednesday 3 May | 7.30pm | GPAC Main Theatre

The heartbeat of Africa pulsates throughout this jaw-dropping show as the musicians and artists transport audience members to the breath-taking continent of Africa. 

“Mother Africa is exuberant, high-energy entertainment” - New York Times

This 90-minute entertainment extravaganza combines the very best talent from nine African countries including Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania to provide the wonder, suspense and joy that is Cirque Mother Africa.

"Pure spectacle, colourful costumes, immense physicality, powerfully rhythmic music, song, dance, cirque acts and comedy, something for everybody" - Glam Adelaide

Seen by more than 2 million people worldwide, Cirque Mother Africa is guaranteed to captivate audiences young and old. Combining the best of contortion, acrobatics, traditional dance, live music, pan spinning, hand balancing and so much more.                     

This brand new show features the amazing hand to hand balancing act as seen on Australia's Got Talent and performed by the Ramadhani Brothers.         

"It’s Cirque Du Soleil with an abundant African flavour"  - Australian Stage

Based on the beloved holiday film, this hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity.

Thursday 24 November | 7.30pm | GPAC Theatre 

Friday 25 November | 7.30pm | GPAC Theatre 

Saturday 26 November | 3.30pm & 7.30pm | GPAC Theatre

Sunday 27 November | 1.30pm & 3.30pm | GPAC Theatre 

A title known the world over, Elf The Musical JR. is a holiday musical that is based on the cherished New Line Cinema hit, Elf, starring Will Farrell. Elf JR. features songs by Tony Award-nominees, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, with a book by Tony Award-winners, Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin.

Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and that his half-brother doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

This modern-day holiday classic is sure to make every member of the audience embrace their ‘inner elf!’

Come dressed in your Christmas best and celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year” with Class Act Productions.

After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear!

A professional learning experience with a difference…

The National Quality Framework – The Musical! is about the experience of early childhood educators in everyday practice. The two characters - Red (Educational Leader) and Lou (Coordinator) take the audience through the professional and emotional experience of daily life in an early childhood setting. 

 

The key events that occur in four acts during the musical are: 

 

- Notice of Assessment 

- Reflective Practice 

- Assessment and Rating 

- Social Justice and The Arts 

 

Through these four acts, Red and Lou express thoughts, feelings and practices that educators have reported on anecdotally, through first hand experience, and in research projects pertaining to educators’ experiences of the National Quality Framework and the regulatory landscape more broadly. 

 

Through witty dialogue, music and dance, these experiences are enacted in order to acknowledge the complexity of the profession as well as reassure educators that they can engage confidently in their everyday practices. 

 

The central themes draw from the Principles and Practices in the EYLF and the 7 Quality areas in the NQS.

We welcome Latrobe Theatre Company to GPAC for the first time with this flamboyant, funny, disco-fuelled musical.

Based on the 1994 popular movie of the same name, Priscilla Queen of the Desert follows the journey of two drag queens, Tick and Adam, and a transgender woman, Bernadette, as they travel across Australia in their bus, named Priscilla.

Tick has been asked to perform at a hotel in Alice Springs by his estranged wife, Marion.

Taking Adam and Bernadette along with him, the trio drive from Sydney to the remote resort town in the middle of the desert. Tick tells his companions that the trip is a favour to his wife, from whom he is separated, but does not reveal that he also has an 8-year-old son he does not know, but who now wants to meet his father.

As they head west, Tick, Adam, and Bernadette learn to accept and support each other, whilst encountering a number of strange and colourful characters.

After experiencing violent homophobic threats, Adam is forced to realize that not everyone is accepting of his flamboyant lifestyle, whilst Bernadette opens up to the possibility of love again following the death of her husband.

Upon reaching Alice Springs, Tick finally meets his son, Benjamin, who accepts his father’s homosexual-ity and drag queen persona.

The trio perform at the resort and realize that they have forged a bond that will last forever.

Full of well-known pop songs and supported by three divas flying high above the stage, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is a flamboyant, funny, disco-fuelled musical that will get you on your feet.

First show sold out, second show added due to popular demand!

Friday 4 November | 7.30PM | GPAC Theatre

Saturday 5 November | 7.30PM | GPAC Theatre

Australia’s world-renowned entertainer and International Magician of the Year, Cosentino, is returning to perform his brand new, 90 minute live show Deception.

Join Cosentino as he performs death-defying escapes that will thrill your senses, mind-boggling stage illusions and cutting-edge street magic that twists your view of reality. 

His trademark blend of dance and magic with a touch of hilarious audience participation will take you on a journey that will captivate fans, new and old, until the very last mind-bending moment. Now recognised as Australia’s most successful magician, Cosentino has spent the last three years touring to packed houses and rave reviews around the world, while his prime-time TV specials have now been seen by over 100 million people across the globe.

In a city at war, five young people count down the days before a boat sets sail for a safer place. Who will leave, who will stay, and what will their choices cost them?

Wednesday 7 September | 7.30PM | GPAC Theatre

 

“Perhaps the most important piece of theatre you will see this year.” 5 STARS, The Music



From multiple-award winning playwright Samah Sabawi comes THEM — a compelling tale of survival, friendship, and the things we are willing to do to protect the ones we love.

THEM tells the story of one young family as they face the decision whether to flee their war-torn city. Omar, Leila and their young child are counting down the days. Their friends enjoy fantasies of escape and the arrival of Omar’s sister brings a real chance to get out – but at what cost?

Developed in consultation with people living in conflict zones and displaced by war, the play was first supported by Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cybec Electric program before enjoying a sell-out extended season at the famed La Mama Theatre.

With unexpected tenderness, laughter, and song, THEM takes audiences into extraordinary circumstances to reveal our shared humanity in the ordinary moments that shape our lives.

“A drama dappled with humanity and humour amid the horrors of war [...] The inextinguishable spirit of laughter, of the music of life in the face of desolation, is crucial to both the play’s poignancy and appeal.” 4 STARS, Sydney Morning Herald.

Written by Samah Sabawi

Directed by Bagryana Popov

Producer, Set and Costume Design Lara Week

Lighting Design Shane Grant

Sound Design Elissa Goodrich

Prop Maker Lara Chamas

Production and Stage Manager Hayley Fox Touring

Production Manager Shane Grant

Cast Taj Aldeeb, Claudia Greenstone, Abdulrahman Hammoud, Sahil Saluja, Meena Shamaly, Mehran Tajbakhsh

Originally produced by Lara Week and Samah Sabawi, in collaboration with La Mama Theatre. THEM is supported by La Trobe University, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative, and the Australia Council for the Arts, the arts funding and advisory body of the Australian Government

The details will be different, but it will happen to you.

Thursday 2 June | 7PM | GPAC Theatre

Described by the New York Times as ‘thrilling and engaging – universal, profound… and uplifting’ Joan Didion’s celebrated memoir is brought to life by Green Room Award-winning actor Jillian Murray in a critically-acclaimed solo performance that reunites her with director Laurence Strangio (L’amante Anglaise national tour 2019).

This highly personal account of loss through the lens of hope unpacks a surreal and overwhelming time in Didion’s life as she faces the sudden loss of her husband John, and later her daughter Quintana. Deeply moving, sometimes funny, and ultimately joyful, this is one woman’s story of the journey to find acceptance, and the lessons learnt in letting go.

After a critically-acclaimed sellout premiere season at Melbourne’s FortyFiveDownstairs this is a production that is a must-see for fans of great drama.

Written By Joan Didion

Directed By Laurence Strangio

Lighting Design Andy Turner

Sound Design Darius Kedros

Photography Jodie Hutchinson

Performed By Jillian Murray

“We felt like privileged listeners, given access to an extraordinarily insightful confrontation with the way in which grief loosens our grasp on reason” ArtsHub

“The audience is mesmerised, holding on to every word, gesture, with eyes following her movements, taking in what’s been so eloquently said” Theatre People

“Jillian Murray gives a superb performance - poised, vulnerable, intelligent, and full of the subtlest ironies” Herald Sun

“This is yet another fine – and, if you like, ‘magical’ – performance from Jillian Murray, aided and guided by Mr Strangio, who here shows that he knows very well that less is more.” Stage Whispers

“a one person show par excellence” The Blurb

The World of Musicals Concert has graced stages across the globe!

Monday 18 July | 7.30PM | GPAC Theatre

The show features a world-class ensemble of multi-talented performing artists who  

exquisitely recreate classic hits, fused with emotive ballads,  

big-screen anthems and iconic show tunes. 

 

From the best of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables to We  

will Rock You, Sister Act and many more, the World of Musicals  

delivers a stirring musical concert theatre experience that will leave  

you spellbound – from the opening song to the final medley of classics. 

 

“ALL THE HIT SONGS IN ONE SHOW ” that is the quintessential takeaway  

from this musical concert gala. 

 

The World of the Musicals concert is a show that is tailored for the  

entire family, so get ready to be enthralled and sing along to all your  

favourite and much-loved Musical songs in one unforgettable evening.