The Brisbane Festival will share in a multi-million dollar grant allocation to present a powerful new Australian play.
Strong Is The New Pretty, is a new work written by Suzie Miller, one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary playwrights.
The piece is one of 20 projects funded as part of a $7.8m allocation from Creative Australia’s new Creative Futures Fund.
Creative Futures Fund Director Wendy Martin said the fund supported works that pushed boundaries and brought distinctly Australian stories to audiences across Australia and around the world.
“Brisbane Festival’s Strong Is The New Pretty tells a potent Australian story,” Ms Martin said.
“It is a landmark collaboration between partners with a reputation for commissioning and producing ambitious works of scale and will establish a replicable model for the commercial and not for profit sectors to partner for success.”
She said the Brisbane Festival, Queensland’s largest major arts festival, was renowned for producing and presenting ambitious new Australian work for broad audiences.
“Strong Is The New Pretty brings together Brisbane Festival, Trish Wadley Productions and Sydney Theatre Company, to produce and present the powerful new story.
“The compelling story explores how a nation transforms a “no” into a resounding “yes,” capturing the rise of women’s professional sport in Australia, with a focus on the creation of the AFL Women’s League which kicked off in 2017.”
Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina said the play was more than a piece of theatre, it was “a powerful story about determination, legacy and pride”.
“It was an immediate yes to this project when Trish Wadley first brought it to me,” Ms Bezzina said.
“Suzie Miller’s writing is bold and evocative, and this production has the potential to spark national conversation.
“Brisbane Festival has always championed bold new Australian stories, and I’m proud to say this one will take centre stage in our 2026 program.”
Ms Miller said Strong Is The New Pretty had been a dream of hers and a “love letter to an Australia we can be proud of”.
“Strong is the New Pretty is a galvanizing story of the Australian commitment to a ‘fair go’, and a reminder that it must include all Australians.
“We hope the play inspires young women and men, of all backgrounds, to go forward and fight for equality and fairness in all that matters.”
