Hayman Theatre at the Fringe World Festival 2026

The Hayman Theatre at Curtin University is thrilled to announce its return to the Fringe World Festival 2026, confirming its growing status as a sought-after production hub outside the inner-city venues. From January 29 to February 7, 2026, the theatre will host two new dramatic comedies guaranteed to be challenging, hilarious, and deeply resonant with contemporary audiences.
Hayman Theatre has been increasingly attracting larger crowds and high-quality independent producers, solidifying its reputation as a prime location for staging compelling new work during the festival.
This year’s stellar line-up includes a smash-hit return and a brand-new play from an award-winning team.

The shows:

LITTLE LADYBUG

by Jarrad Whitehurst

It’s ok to pretend you’re ok!

Following a sold-out success earlier in 2025, LITTLE LADYBUG  is back to kick off the Fringe season.

Set in an iconic Aussie backyard under the glow of fairy lights, and backed by a nostalgic Y2K playlist, this dark comedy explores the complex layers of young Australian friendship. Five high-school friends gather to mark the one-year anniversary of their friend Joan’s death. While they try to keep up appearances, the night quickly unravels as unresolved grief and baggage surface—Vic is obsessive, Lou is high, Osker is drunk, and something is clearly troubling Fran and Angel.

Audience Reactions:
“Emotional with heart and comedy”
“Beautifully written, beautifully performed”

DEADLINES

By Max Gipson

Ah, the office. What better place to spend the end of the world?

Two coworkers, Henry and Lucas, race to meet the unreasonable deadlines set by their overbearing CEO. They soon find that their next deadline may be their last.From the award-winning team behind 2024’s The Optimist comes a brand new one-act play: DEADLINES.
A dark comedy set in everyone’s favourite place to be (the office), DEADLINES explores the highs and lows, the thrills* and spills** of the best hours of our day – work. The trouble is, the next deadline for our everyman heroes might just be their last. In fact, it almost certainly will be. The boss has just announced… The end of the world? Faced with impending doom, the staff grapple with their mortality, their isolation, and – of course – the report that’s due at 2:15 PM. But that’s fine, right? We’ve all still got time.
Don’t we?

*Thrills not guaranteed
**Spills are almost certainly guaranteed