Judy Davis Returns to the Stage for Helen Garner's THE SPARE ROOM

Belvoir presents Eamon Flack’s gripping adaptation of Australian literary icon Helen Garner’s award-winning novel The Spare Room, starring Aussie screen legend Judy Davis in her first on-stage role in almost 15 years, from 7th June to 13th July 2025. 

Led by Flack, Belvoir’s Artistic Director, and featuring Elizabeth Alexander (Netflix’s Clickbait, STC’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf) alongside the three-time Emmy Award-winner, The Spare Room is an emotionally nuanced depiction of two old friends confronting the burden of illness, inspired by Garner’s own experiences caring for a friend with cancer. 

When Helen’s old friend, Nicola, comes to town for treatment, it only makes sense she should stay in the spare room. Nicola has put her faith in a shady alternative cancer clinic, and Helen is determined to be her brilliant friend and carer no matter what. But as the sleepless nights rack up, a short stay in the spare room becomes a loving, maddening battle for life.

Director Eamon Flack said, “I’ll call it: Helen Garner’s our greatest living writer. I’ve been dreaming for years of putting her work on stage. The Spare Room looks like a story about dying but it’s really about what we live for: each other.” 

The production is the first of three literary adaptations premiering in Belvoir’s 2025 season, with a new adaptation of Max Porter’s bestselling novel Grief Is the Thing With Feathers hitting the stage in July, followed by Carissa Licciardello and Elsie Yager’s joyous adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s queer classic Orlando in August.