WAAPA unveils 300-show program at ECU’s new Minderoo Centre for Performance Excellence

WA’s next generation of performers will take centre stage in the heart of Perth this year, as the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts unveils a blockbuster program of more than 300 shows at Edith Cowan University’s new city campus.

Ahead of the opening of ECU City this month, WAAPA has revealed its 2026 performance program, marking a major shift into its newly built home at the Minderoo Centre for Performance Excellence.

The year-long program will span theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, jazz, opera and musical theatre — with many performances free to the public.

WAAPA executive dean Professor David Shirley said the city move signalled a new chapter for one of the State’s most celebrated creative institutions.

“Our new performance space and state-of-the-art facility will ensure WAAPA continues its place at the forefront of performing arts training, both nationally and internationally,” Professor Shirley said.

The Premier Visiting Artists Fund, which will bring internationally renowned creatives to Perth as a main feature of the 2026 program. The $7 million investment fund is also supported by the Minderoo Foundation through its ground-breaking philanthropic agreement with WAAPA.

Ukrainian-born Australian classical pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk will become the inaugural visiting artist, and spend a week in residency in Perth in March, before performing at WAAPA.

The musician was described by fellow pianist Roger Woodward as “the most compelling pianist of his generation”.

Grammy Award-winning jazz composer and bandleader Maria Schneider will collaborate with the WAAPA Big Band for a special October performance at the new McCusker Recital Hall.

The performance calendar also features a wide range of student productions across Perth’s major venues.

Highlights include LINK Dance Company’s Enter Coda at the Liberty Theatre in May, featuring an excerpt from Hofesh Shechter’s Grand Finale, and a mid-year production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Heath Ledger Theatre, starring WAAPA’s graduating acting cohort.

September will mark the first performance inside WAAPA’s new Playhouse Theatre, with a production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.

Music theatre students will take to the Regal Theatre stage with the hit Broadway musical, & Juliet.

The year’s performance calendar will wrap up in November with performance making students staging a contemporary Australian reimagining of The Bacchae in WAAPA’s new Flex Theatre.

Music lovers can also expect free concerts throughout the year, and weekend workshops will be available for high school students.

Copies of the 2026 WAAPA performance program are available from the WAAPA Box Office via Roe Street, or can be downloaded online.