Malthouse Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company presents the critically acclaimed adaption of Australian classic Wake in Fright six years after its iconic premiere

Griffin Theatre Company is thrilled to close its stellar 2026 season with the critically acclaimed adaptation of Kenneth Cook’s novel Wake in Fright, reuniting the inimitable Zahra Newman with Griffin’s Artistic Director Declan Greene seven years since its debut, from 2 – 19 December 2026 at Carriageworks.

Cook’s cult 1961 novel and later, iconic horror film, shocked and intrigued Australian and international audiences in equal measure in its horrifying and unflinching exploration of toxic masculinity, peer pressure, and the dark, claustrophobic underbelly of Australian outback culture.

This adaptation is relentless in its retelling, flooring audiences and critics with Zahra Newman’s (STC’s Dracula, Belvoir St Theatre’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) electrifying and ferocious solo performance, soundtracked by a bone-rattling score from friendships.

In December 2026, Zahra and Declan will reunite for the first time in six years, promising to wow audiences all over again with this hyper-theatrical and unforgettable retelling of one of Australia’s most haunting works.

Welcome to Bundayabba—the best little town in the world!

You’ll never want to leave. And even if you did… You can’t.

Well-heeled schoolteacher John Grant is en route to Sydney, when a layover in the mining town of Bundayabba turns into a three-week freefall. Stranded and starving, Grant is forced to rely on the locals for survival. But as the beer flows and the nights wear on, he finds himself stripped of money, identity and sanity. 

Director Declan Greene (The Lewis Trilogy, The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin) said, “This show first came to Sydney in 2020 at the Sydney Opera House and was then meant to do a national tour which was scuppered by a small pandemic that I’m sure no-one remembers. It has so much to say about Australia, about Australian-ness, that age-old question of who belongs, who doesn’t, and what we’re prepared to destroy in order to enforce this. And that feels dangerously relevant.”

Zahra Newman added, “I’m very excited to step back into the world we built for Wake in Fright. After 7 years, some resonances have deepened, others have taken on new meaning, but the difficult questions remain; and ultimately, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to unpack and hopefully expand this classic piece of Australian literature.”

Don’t miss this enthralling descent into a uniquely Australian kind of hell, brought to life by a powerhouse performer.

This production will also run at the University of Melbourne Arts and Culture (UMAC) from 25 – 27 November 2026 at Union Theatre, returning to Melbourne for the first time since its 2019 premiere.