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/Designer Patrick Kennedy
Associate Set Designer Tom Bannerman
Stage Manager Emily Saint-Smith
Deputy Stage Manager Thomas Fullerton
Intimacy Director Shondelle Pratt
Lighting Technicians Ron Abuhalaiqa, Jay Daniel, Jayden Naimo and Dalton Munro
Set Construction Team Rodger Wishart, Barry French and David Marshall Martin
CAST
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: 2hrs and 20 mins including a 20min interval
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
★★★★½ – Sydney Arts Guide
“Perfect Arrangement is bitingly funny, fabulous entertainment…” – Faith in Theatres
“… truly a show you won’t want to miss” – The Scoop
“…sharp, cheeky and entrancing…” – City Hub
“A Masterclass in Layered Performance” – That Show Blog
“…rich, energising, and vastly entertaining.” – Theatre Red
“…a treatise wrapped initially in the warmth of a comedy.” – Stage Whispers
“…a genuinely fulfilling experience.” – Cultural Binge
“…thoughtful and well-crafted…”- Theatre Now
Main image: © H. Armstrong Roberts/Alamy; Composition: Maddy Withington