The Spare Room

Details About The Show Creatives & Cast Ticket Information

Jane Hammond, Therèsa Borg

The Spare Room

7–10 October 2026 Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse

The limits of friendship are put to the test in this adaptation of Helen Garner’s acclaimed novel The Spare Room. It’s heartening, harrowing and darkly funny.

→Buy tickets→

Details About The Show Creatives & Cast Ticket Information

Adapted from Helen Garner’s acclaimed novel, The Spare Room tells the story of Helen who lovingly prepares her spare room for her friend Nicola. Nicola is coming to Melbourne for three weeks to receive treatment she believes will cure her cancer.

From the moment Nicola staggers off the plane, Helen becomes her nurse, her guardian angel and her stony judge, as they negotiate an unmapped path through Nicola’s bizarre therapy.

Composer Jane Hammond and Librettist Therèsa Borg tenderly realise the rage, pained love and friendship at the essence of Garner’s award-winning book and let the story sing.

Depicting the friendship at its centre are sopranos Natalie Jones and Antoinette Halloran, who return to Victorian Opera as Helen and Nicola.

Sarah Goodes makes her operatic debut as the Director of this production, conducted by Phoebe Briggs.

Heartening, harrowing and darkly funny, The Spare Room makes its world premiere as a moving new Australian opera.

““It is a remarkable achievement, and it would be remiss not to mention: the author, composer, librettist, director, conductor, the two star performers and CEO of the company are all women.””

— Bridget Davies, The Age

““This new adaptation of Helen Garner’s novel elevates ordinary life through Jane Hammond’s evocative score and the design’s overarching beauty.””

— Patricia Maunder, Limelight

→Buy tickets→

Dates, Venue & Info

Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse
Tickets $39 – $150

Wednesday 7 October, 7:30pm
Thursday 8 October, 7:30pm
Friday 9 October, 7:30pm
Saturday 10 October, 2:00pm
Saturday 10 October, 7:30pm

Duration
2 hours and 20 minutes, including interval

Content warning
This production contains coarse language, haze effects, live animals and sensitive themes about cancer, death and sexual assault of a minor.

The Spare Room is co-produced in association with Monstrous Theatre

PRODUCTION PATRON

We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Peter Laver AM

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 /15

Read the Programme

Download PDF (5 MB)↓

CREDITS

Composer
Jane Hammond

Librettist
Therèsa Borg

Based on The Spare Room by Helen Garner

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor
Phoebe Briggs

Director
Sarah Goodes

Set & Costume Designer
Harriet Oxley

Lighting Designer
Paul Jackson

CAST

Helen
Natalie Jones

Nicola
Antoinette Halloran

Leo & Others
Adrian Tamburini

Dr Caplan & Others
Emily Bauer-Jones

Lucy & Others
Carrie Barr

Iris & Others
Rachael Joyce

Bessie
Scarlett Sheludko / Juliette Tancredi

Orchestra
Victorian Opera Chamber Orchestra

Concessions include: Pension and Health Care Card holders, full-time Students, and MEAA members. Companion Card ticketing available.

Other Discounts available: Seniors Card holders, 30yrs & Under, Child (14yrs & Under), and Arts Access Victoria members.

Terms & Conditions

All children up to 14 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian over 18 years.
Family Group must include at least 2 Adults and 2 Child tickets.
We strongly advise that tickets should only be purchased via authorised ticket sellers. For The Spare Room this includes Arts Centre Melbourne, Victorian Opera, Tix.co, and TodayTix. Tickets purchased through unauthorised sellers cannot be guaranteed entrance.
Prices are correct at time of publishing and may vary.
Subscription discounts are calculated on full-priced tickets.
Our Privacy and Ticketing Policies can be found here.

Pricing | $39-$150

Price type

Premium

A-Reserve

B-Reserve

C-Reserve

D-Reserve

Adult

$150

$120

$90

$69

$39

Concession

$140

$110

$80

$59

$39

Senior

$145

$115

$85

$64

$39

30yrs & Under

$30

Child (14yrs & Under)

$30

Group (6-9)

$140

$110

$80

$59

$39

Want to book tickets?

Buy tickets→

→Buy tickets→

Arts Centre Melbourne Fees & Charges: A service charge up to $8.95 may apply for online and phone bookings, per transaction. Depending on what delivery method you select for your tickets, you may incur a delivery fee – these apply to hard-copy tickets and delivery methods such as Regular, Registered or Express Mail, but not to e-tickets (paperless digital tickets delivered via email).

Group (10+) pricing | $39-$127.50

Price type

Premium

A-Reserve

B-Reserve

C-Reserve

D-Reserve

Groups (10+)

$127.50

$102

$76.50

$58.65

$39

Want to book tickets?

Buy tickets→

How to book for Groups (10+)

Purchase for large groups by email or phone our team on (03) 9001 6400 (Option 1).
Group (10+) booking can be paid by invoice or credit card.
Groups (6-9) can be made with Arts Centre Melbourne via the ticketing links above.

School Group pricing | $25

Price type

Premium

A-Reserve

B-Reserve

C-Reserve

D-Reserve

Student

$25

Teacher - 1 free per 10 students

Teacher - Additional

$25

Want to book tickets?

Buy tickets→

How to make a School booking

Purchase for a school group by email or phone our Education team on (03) 9012 6659.
School Groups receive 1 complimentary teacher tickets for every 10 Students booked. Additional teachers can book at Student rate.
All performances are accompanied by education resources.

Want to know more about our Education & Pathways programs? You can read more here.

Subscribe to Season 2026 by purchasing a package of 2 or more performance to receive exclusive benefits, including a 20% discount, priority booking period, and dedicated customer service.

Want to know more? Read our handy Subscriptions FAQ.