My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Award-Winning Play FIGHTING To Have World Premiere At New Theatre

Running 18 March - 12 April 2025.

By:
Award-Winning Play FIGHTING To Have World Premiere At New Theatre

New Theatre will present the world premiere of FIGHTING by Sydney writer Xavier Coy, which won the Silver Gull Play Award in 2022. Running 18 March - 12 April 2025.

Directed by the playwright, it features a cast of three actors returning to the New Theatre stage: Jay James-Moody (The Venetian Twins), Sophie Highmore (Ink) and David Woodland (When the Rain Stops Falling, Wolf Lullaby).

Xavier explains what prompted this deeply personal play: "I wrote this play in the weeks after being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I’d spent a long time struggling with my mental health and after finally receiving my diagnosis and facing life with an answer, I did a lot of introspection and looked into how Bipolar was depicted and understood. It was pretty upsetting to see how my disease was being represented. That’s what led to me writing 'Fighting'.

"This play is raw and by far the most personal I’ve ever written. I had to write it that way in order to achieve what I wanted: the help the audience to understand that we’re not crazy. The difficulties are deeply rooted in psychology and thought patterns which attach themselves to physical symptoms and states. But I didn’t want to write trauma porn. This play needed comedy throughout because if you don’t laugh then you cry. Ultimately, I want an audience to do both those things and in the process be able to empathize a little because things that most people experience, sadness, anxiety, fear, are in Bipolar, just to a much more intense level."



Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Direction of a Musical - Top 3
1. Michael Arden - The Lost Boys
30.7% of votes
2. Tim Jackson - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
13.2% of votes
3. Lear deBessonet - Ragtime
12.2% of votes

Don't Miss a Australia - Sydney News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...


Videos


Play In A Day: Henry VI Part 2 in Australia - Sydney Play In A Day: Henry VI Part 2
The Neilson Nutshell, Pier 2/3 (9/15-9/15)
Collegium Musicum in Australia - Sydney Collegium Musicum
The Neilson, ACO On The Pier (6/13-6/13)
Disney Presents The Lion King - Audio Described Performance in Australia - Sydney Disney Presents The Lion King - Audio Described Performance
Capitol Theatre, Sydney (8/23-8/23)
La Stupenda: A Joan Sutherland Celebration in Australia - Sydney La Stupenda: A Joan Sutherland Celebration
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House (8/20-8/22)
Good Company Entertainment Presents: The Big Chillout in Australia - Sydney Good Company Entertainment Presents: The Big Chillout
The B - Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre (5/23-5/23)
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience - Armidale in Australia - Sydney Faulty Towers The Dining Experience - Armidale
Rydges Armidale (7/25-7/25)
FREAK OUT! in Australia - Sydney FREAK OUT!
Eternity Playhouse (6/12-6/13) PHOTOS VIDEOS
Sheltering in Australia - Sydney Sheltering
Sydney Opera House (6/03-6/13)
Anastasia - The Broadway Musical - Captioned Performance in Australia - Sydney Anastasia - The Broadway Musical - Captioned Performance
Sydney Lyric (7/12-7/12)
Let’s Try and Make It Happen  in Australia - Sydney Let’s Try and Make It Happen
Shopfront Arts Co-op (5/21-5/31)