PERFECT ARRANGEMENT
BY TOPHER PAYNE
4 February- 7 March 2026
PRESENTED AS PART OF MARDI GRAS+
“If I stay, it’s giving up the belief that things should be better”
It’s 1950s America, and a new colour has been added to the Red Scare: lavender. The Lavender Scare saw LGBTQ+ people interrogated, outed, and dismissed from government service in a sweeping campaign of fear and moral panic.
Enter Bob and Norma, two U.S. State Department employees tasked with identifying and reporting “sexual deviants” within their ranks. There’s just one problem: both Bob and Norma are gay, and are married to each other’s partners as a carefully constructed ruse.
Inspired by the early stirrings of the American gay rights movement, this madcap, classic-sitcom setup gradually gives way to sharp, provocative drama, as two “All-American” couples find themselves staring down the closet door — and the cost of keeping it shut.
Topher Payne explores themes of fear and the weaponisation of identity – themes that feel just as relevant today.
“Usually, a playwright has to choose between writing a laugh-out-loud comedy and a very serious drama. Topher Payne has written both with Perfect Arrangement.” Theatre Mania
CREATIVE TEAM
Director Patrick Kennedy
CAST
TBC
DATES/TIMES
Previews Wed 4 & Thu 5 Feb 7:30pm
Opening Night Fri 6 Feb 7:30pm
Thu – Sat 7:30pm, Sun 2pm
Final performance Sat 7 Mar 2pm
Running time: to be announced
Please note: latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance
tickets
Full $45
Concessions, Groups (6+) $40
New Theatre Members $30
Thrifty Thursdays $30
Preview $25
(booking fees apply)
New Theatre bar and
box office accepts card only
Main image: © H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy; Composition: Maddy Withington