Thirty years after becoming one of Australia’s defining films, The Castle is heading to the stage with the original Working Dog creative team writing the adaptation for a Melbourne premiere in March 2027.
by Paul Cashmere
One of Australia’s most enduring films, The Castle, will be adapted for the stage with a new theatrical production set to premiere at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne from March 2027. The production marks the 30th anniversary of the 1997 film and reunites the original creative team behind the screenplay, who have written a new stage version while also joining the production as co-producers.
The adaptation has been written by Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog, the same quartet responsible for the original screenplay. While remaining faithful to the story of the Kerrigan family and their battle against the compulsory acquisition of their home, the stage version has been updated with new material intended to reflect the passage of time since the film first appeared.
The production will be directed by Paige Rattray, whose theatre credits include the original production of Fangirls, alongside television work on Seasons 2 and 3 of Heartbreak High. Set and costume design will be by AACTA Award winner Jonathon Oxlade, whose credits include Girl Asleep, Into the Woods and Bluey’s Big Play. Casting is expected to be announced in the coming months.
Producer Michael Cassel said the film’s themes made it a natural choice for live theatre.
“When the team at Working Dog first approached me about bringing The Castle to the stage, I knew we had to do this,” Cassel said.
“The film miraculously captures the specificities of Australian life and yet feels so universally true; family love, the challenges change presents, and the warmth and humour and dignity of ordinary people standing up for what matters. It makes you laugh, and then, before you know it, it makes you cry.
“That is exactly what live theatre does at its best and why The Castle was always destined for the stage. To sit together in a theatre and feel the laughter, tears and pride in real time will be incredibly special.”
Working Dog’s Rob Sitch, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro and Jane Kennedy said the idea of adapting the film had been under consideration for decades.
“Over the best part of 25 years we have never lost our desire to turn The Castle into a live stage show,” they said.
“Not just a retelling of the story but a quarter of a century of funny updates. A celebration of all we love about the Kerrigan family. We wrote this new, fully updated show in the same way that we wrote the film screenplay all those years ago, the four of us in a room trying to make each other laugh. Our goal was to capture the warmth and humour, dare we say, ‘the vibe’, of the original story in a way that will hopefully resonate with new and long-term fans alike.”
Released in April 1997, The Castle became one of the defining Australian films of its era. Directed by Rob Sitch and produced by Working Dog, it starred Michael Caton as Darryl Kerrigan, Anne Tenney as Sal, Stephen Curry as narrator Dale Kerrigan, Sophie Lee, Anthony Simcoe, Wayne Hope, Tiriel Mora, Eric Bana in his feature film debut, Costas Kilias and Charles “Bud” Tingwell.
Produced on a budget of about A$750,000 and filmed in Melbourne over just 11 days, the film grossed more than A$10.3 million at the Australian box office. It has since become a fixture of Australian popular culture, with many of its lines entering everyday conversation and the film regularly cited among Australia’s most significant screen comedies.
The story follows Darryl Kerrigan’s legal battle after his family’s home in Melbourne’s outer suburbs is compulsorily acquired to make way for airport expansion. While the film is remembered for its humour, it also drew on constitutional law and questions surrounding compulsory acquisition, property rights and the meaning of home, themes that have continued to resonate with audiences over the past three decades.
Victorian Minister for Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said Melbourne was the appropriate city to debut the production.
“Melbourne has long been Australia’s home of world-class theatre. It’s especially fitting that audiences will be the first in the country to experience this stage adaptation here, where the film was set, written and produced,” he said.
“Theatre productions like this encourage people to visit, support local business and jobs, and reinforce the important role the arts play in Victoria.”
Tickets for the Melbourne season are on sale now, with performances scheduled to begin in March 2027 at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Ticket Details
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