Theatre Works to Stage MARA This April

This April, a fierce new reimagining of Charles Perrault's fabled Cinderella will come to Theatre Works. Written by Paris-based Australian playwright Hanna Pyliotis and directed by acclaimed theatre-maker Megan Jones, Mara refocuses the traditional lens in the Cinderella myth. Positioning it from the stepmother's perspective, this pertinent tale reveals a woman trapped inside a story she never wrote. Performances run 22 April – 2 May 2026.

A spirited, ambitious girl desperate to escape her prescribed destiny, marriage to a wealthy widower seems to promise a new beginning for Mara, but the fantasy quickly unravels. Families won't blend, her husband vanishes, and she is left caring for a stepdaughter who will never love her. Exploring the emotional terrain of blended families and the complex bonds between parents and children, this powerful retelling is set in a crumbling home, haunted by broken promises.

“At Theatre Works, we're really drawn to work that interrogates power, gender, and inherited narratives, and Mara does that in a very clear and fearless way”, explains Executive Director Dianne Toulson.

“It's a piece that asks, who gets to be seen as monstrous? And who gets to be forgiven? Those questions landed very strongly for us, particularly in a moment where blended families and women's ambition are still so heavily judged.

Mara isn't a villain origin story,  it's a reckoning. There's a point in the piece where the fairytale scaffolding falls away and you're left sitting with a woman who made choices, believed in a future, and paid a price for it. And that's incredibly powerful.”

Blending Brechtian storytelling and contemporary fairytale aesthetics with Poor Theatre traditions, Mara uses minimal set and maximum imagination, transforming the Theatre Works black-box stage into a living storybook.

Performed by critically acclaimed singer/actor Aurora Kurth, this virtuosic one-actor work brings ten characters to life while a live musician creates a richly layered, Foley-inspired soundscape that functions as both score, and storytelling engine. Children, parents, lovers, and ghosts emerge in a collision of yearning, memory, music, and myth.

Asking what happens when the fairy tale breaks down and a woman is left holding the consequences, this production of Mara has been selected for the 2026 VCE Theatre Studies Playlist and is playing as a part of the By Theatre Works programming stream.

Running for two weeks only at the Acland Street venue, it's well placed to be a true highlight on the Melbourne Arts Calendar, not to be missed.

Based in St Kilda, Theatre Works has been home to bold, independent theatre for more than 40 years. They give artists the space, support, and freedom to take risks, and audiences the chance to discover powerful new Australian stories. Each year, they present dozens of productions across their three venues, from reimagined classics to brand new works, created in partnership with some of the country's most exciting theatre makers.