Thursday, 27 August 2026
Step into the enchanted world of The Fairy Queen, widely considered to be one of Henry Purcell’s greatest musical works – now reimagined for a contemporary audience.
With its wildly imaginative theatricality, this spectacular production is a fitting choice for the inaugural season in WAAPA’s stunning new Playhouse Theatre at ECU City from 11–17 September.
Featuring the extraordinary talents of WAAPA’s Classical Voice students, backed by the superb musicianship of the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra and the behind-the-scenes expertise of P&D staff and students, The Fairy Queen promises a thrilling showcase of WAAPA’s artistic and collaborative excellence.
Purcell’s semi-operatic adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was first performed in 1692, a hundred years after Shakespeare’s play was written. Vibrant and colourful, it uses a sequence of musical masques set to a brilliantly inventive score to create a fairytale fantasy.
Like Shakespeare’s play, the score takes us from bewitching beauty and pathos to rowdy, raunchy desire and broad comedy.
Four hundred years later, visiting director Melissa Cantwell and music director Stewart Smith bring a modern revisioning of The Fairy Queen to the stage of Perth’s newest theatre venue.
“Created in collaboration with the immensely talented WAAPA students, we have reframed the work in an urban context to look at all the different ways we find love in the modern world,” says Cantwell. “It is sassy, stylish and full of heart.”
The ensemble cast weave their magic around themes of love and desire, transformation and illusion, and of nature and the supernatural.
“The spirit of Purcell’s adaptation has informed our own, embracing a fluidity of ideas and freedom of interpretation to create a rendition of The Fairy Queen that emerges with astonishing relevance and power for a modern audience,” says Cantwell.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION: THE FAIRY QUEEN BY HENRY PURCELL
Thu 11 – Thu 17 September, 2026 at 7.00pm, matinee Sat 12 September at 2.00pm
Playhouse Theatre, WAAPA, ECU City Campus, 500 Wellington St, Perth
Directed by Melissa Cantwell, Music Direction by Stewart Smith
Performed by WAAPA 3rd Year Classical Voice students with the WAAPA Symphony Orchestra
Tickets: $55 Full / $50 Concession / $48 WAAPA Friends
BOOK NOW Tel (08) 6304 6895 or online at waapa.ecu.edu.au