SISTREN Returns to Belvoir St Theatre in April 2026
This follows a sell-out run as part of Griffin Theatre Company's 2025 Lookout season.
Following a sell-out run as part of Griffin Theatre Company's 2025 Lookout season, one of Australia's most exciting rising stars, Iolanthe will bring her cult-hit SISTREN to the Griffin mainstage from Thursday 9th April to Sunday 3rd May 2026 at Belvoir's Downstairs Theatre.
Isla and Violet are a ‘lethal combination'. Their self-righteous headmaster thinks that's an insult. They think it's a cute name for a girl group.
Too-smart, too precocious and way too outspoken, it's no surprise when these self-proclaimed soulmates are S E P A R A T E D until the end of the year. But the world outside their South London school is a divisive one for a cisgender Caribbean diva and her ‘Ethel Cain adjacent' transgender bestie. As their cosmic connection is tested, one key question arises—will Isla and Violet be pulled apart, or will they reign supreme?
Directed by Ian Michael (Sydney Theatre Company's Stolen, Picnic at Hanging Rock) and starring real life besties Iolanthe (Darlinghurst Theatre Company's seven methods of killing Kylie Jenner, Belvoir 25A's The Edit) and the extraordinary Janet Anderson (Belvoir St Theatre's Orlando, Darlinghurst Theatre Company's Overflow), SISTREN is like chugging five cans of Red Bull (sugar free, duh!) then doomscrolling YouTube. It's bringing fabulous to the theatre for a new generation of entertainment-lovers.
Griffin's Artistic Director Declan Greene said, “SISTREN shows the future of theatre is in very safe, very smart hands: it's bold, fearless and gloriously playing by its own rules. We first encountered it through our Griffin Lookout program and it was immediately clear this was a show that deserved a bigger platform. Iolanthe and this brilliant team are part of an exciting wave of rising Sydney talent and after last year's sell-out season, I'm thrilled audiences across Sydney will finally see the electric work they've made.”
Iolanthe added, “We call it the ‘SISTREN Universe' because it's a state of being, a collective consciousness. It stands directly in opposition to etiquette and archaic rules that restrict behaviour. The ‘Universe' exists in the grey area of overlapping intersections and identities, and yet it is everything but grey. It is pink and fluffy and has Lady Gaga soundbites and smells a bit like stolen perfume and shots of fireball. The show's conceit is this: to love others beyond the bounds of biological relation, gender identity, race or class is indicative of a deep self-love, love for community and liberation.”
SISTREN is a Green Door Theatre Company production. Green Door Theatre Company is a Sydney based, independent company, specialising in provocative new work that places artists and social impact at the centre of the producing process. The company believes in the power of theatre to shift perception and behaviour. Their productions and initiatives have gone on to national acclaim, including seven methods of killing Kylie Jenner (Darlinghurst Theatre Company premiere and national tour), Overflow and the Trans Theatre Festival.
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