Marina Prior, Helen Morse and John Bell star in a line-up ranging from oddball comedies to dark, demented dramas.

The world premieres of four new Australian plays; John Bell’s first performance in a contemporary drama for 26 years; a roll-call of big name actors including Marina Prior, Helen Morse, Julia Blake, Nancye Hayes, Colin Friels, Simon Burke and Catherine McClements; a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company brokered with Artistic Director Jonathan Church before his unexpected departure; and a healthy representation of women writers and directors: these are some of the defining features of Melbourne Theatre Company’s 2017 season.

^{Joel Jackson and Christie Whelan Browne star in Born Yesterday. Photo courtesy of MTC}

Featuring 11 mainstage production and a new work for its Education Program, the 2017 season kicks off in period style with Garson Kanin’s 1940s Broadway classic Born Yesterday, directed by recently appointed Associate Director Dean Bryant. In the screwball romance, a wealthy junk dealer hires a journalist to educate his showgirl mistress Billie Dawn when her ignorance threatens his corrupt dealings with a Congressman. “Dean was incredibly passionate...