Queensland Theatre Company has announced a 2027 season featuring a new adaptation of Little Women, with Queensland writers and performers bringing Louisa May Alcott's novel to the stage. The production's official listing schedules performances at the Playhouse, QPAC, from 9–28 November 2027, with Courtney Cavallaro playing Jo March.
The adaptation is written by Kathryn Marquet and Maxine Mellor and directed by Bridget Boyle, with an all-Queensland cast. The company's description follows Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy as they grow up during the American Civil War and resist the expectations of their era. Jo wants a life as a writer, while her sisters have different hopes for love, ambition and family.
ABC News reported on Thursday (8 October) that Brisbane-based actor and playwright Marquet was drawing on Jo's creative ambitions and frustration with the choices available to her. Marquet connected that struggle with the experiences of young women today, including the tension between pursuing their own passions and expectations around marriage and family.
Marquet told the ABC that the adaptation also explored how to be a good person during a time of crisis. Alongside its anger and contemporary resonances, she wanted the production to offer an audience warmth, escape and a sense of safety. Artistic director Daniel Evans said commissioning the work brought together local artists he admired and acknowledged the women in the independent theatre sector who had shaped his career.
The season also includes a new Romeo & Juliet adaptation by First Nations theatre-makers Isaac Drandic and Kamarra Bell-Wykes. The company's season listing places it at the Bille Brown Theatre from 27 February–21 March 2027. Evans told the ABC that making room for Queensland artists and applying a First Nations perspective to the Shakespeare work were important parts of his approach.
Brisbane Times reported that the eight-play mainstage season included five co-productions with other Australian theatre organisations. Evans said only one production had a cast smaller than seven, describing an ambition to stage substantial works and put Queensland Theatre Company into the national conversation.
The wider programme includes An Iliad starring David Wenham, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Counting & Cracking. Evans will direct Stereophonic, a collaboration with Melbourne Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre, and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Death by Deckchair. The season also includes Alberto Di Troia's My Roman Empire, the winner of the Queensland Premier's Drama Award.
For audiences planning ahead, the company's 2027 season and booking information says eight-, six- and five-play packages are on sale now. Three-play packages and single tickets go on sale on 15 October 2026. The season spans the Bille Brown Theatre, QPAC and Brisbane Powerhouse, with Little Women scheduled as its November production.