{"id":46616,"date":"2026-07-08T13:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/46616\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:08:27","slug":"victorian-opera-presents-melbourne-debut-of-reg-livermores-ned-kelly-the-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/46616\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorian Opera presents Melbourne debut of Reg Livermore’s Ned Kelly: The Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RegVictorian Opera proudly presents the Melbourne debut of\u00a0Reg Livermore\u2019s\u00a0Ned Kelly: The Musical, playing at the Union Theatre, The University of Melbourne, from 24 \u2013 25 July 2026.<\/p>\n

The acclaimed new production premiered in late March with an exclusive run at Her Majesty\u2019s Theatre Ballarat, marking the musical\u2019s long-awaited return to the stage nearly fifty years after its original premiere.<\/p>\n

The production is directed by Victorian Opera\u2019s Artistic Director Stuart Maunder AM (Follies, The Pirates of Penzance), with Simon Holt (Cats, Sweeney Todd) returning to conduct.<\/p>\n

Both Maunder and Holt worked closely with Reg Livermore to further refine the musical, with Holt contributing additional music and new orchestrations for this revised version of the score.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictorian Opera is thrilled to have given new life into Reg Livermore\u2019s iconic musical some five decades after its premiere. We are proud to have brought this work back to the stage with care and finesse, allowing this legendary part of our national identity to speak and indeed sing in our own voice,\u201d said Maunder.<\/p>\n

\"VictorianFresh from appearing in\u00a0Waitress, rising star Ethan Jones returns to the role of Ned Kelly following his striking portrayal earlier this year. He is joined again by celebrated stage veterans Maria Mercedes (Candide) as Ma Kelly and Robert Grubb (Sunset Boulevard) as Superintendent Hare.<\/p>\n

As members of the Kelly Gang, Liam Head (Wicked) joins the cast as Joe Byrne, alongside Darcy Wain and Luke London, recently in Victorian Opera\u2019s\u00a0The Pirates of Penzance,\u00a0as Steve Hart and Dan Kelly. Chelsea Dawson (Six) performs as Ned\u2019s sister Kate.<\/p>\n

Rohan Campbell (The Lord of the Rings \u2013 A Musical Tale) stars as Aaron Sherritt, the friend\u2011turned\u2011informant whose betrayal shaped the Kelly story. Sally Bourne (Sister Act) appears as publican Mrs Jones, and Darcy Carroll (The Pirates of Penzance) joins the cast as Judge Redmond Barry, who famously sentenced Kelly to death.<\/p>\n

Victorian Opera\u2019s current and former Opera Prize winners feature as supporting cast, including Douglas Kelly as Sergeant Fitzpatrick and Edwin Living, Rachael Joyce as Ellen Sherritt, Bailey Montgomerie as Constable McIntyre, and Alessia Pintabona in the ensemble.<\/p>\n

\"VictorianThe legend himself, Reg Livermore AO (Wicked, My Fair Lady, The Producers), stars in a cameo role as Mr Tarleton, the Bank Manager. The ensemble also includes Teddy Burgess, Declan Farr, Kristina McNamara, Joshua Morton-Galea and Connor Sweeney.<\/p>\n

Ned Kelly\u2019s name is etched into Australian folklore. The infamous bushranger, his gang, and the iconic suit of armour continue to spark national debate: was he a champion of the underdog or a cold-blooded criminal? Experience the triumphant return of\u00a0Reg Livermore\u2019s\u00a0Ned Kelly: The Musical.<\/p>\n

Reg Livermore\u2019s Ned Kelly: The Musical
Union Theatre \u2013 The University of Melbourne, 15 Monash Road, Melbourne
Performances: 24 \u2013 25 July 2026
Information and Bookings:\u00a0www.victorianopera.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Images: Reg Livermore\u2019s Ned Kelly The Musical \u2013 photos by Jeff Busby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victorian Opera proudly presents the Melbourne debut of\u00a0Reg Livermore\u2019s\u00a0Ned Kelly: The Musical, playing at the Union Theatre, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1174,1164,1168,1172,1165,1175,260,1163,1171,1169,1170,1173,1166,1177,1167,1162,1176],"class_list":["post-46616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-belvoir","tag-book-of-mormom","tag-destination-nsw","tag-fortyfivedownstairs","tag-kooza","tag-la-boite-theatre","tag-melbourne","tag-meow-meow","tag-midsumma","tag-muck-rack","tag-ngv","tag-opera-australia","tag-publication-media","tag-rocky-horror","tag-the-lion-king","tag-theatre","tag-todd-mckenney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}