World Premiere: I HATE MEN AS READ BY MEN Set to Ignite Newcastle Fringe
A book once banned in France for being “too radical” is about to land in a Newcastle pub with a live band, three male performers, and a director determined to keep audiences on edge.
Stoddart Entertainment Group has announced the director and cast for the world premiere of I HATE MEN AS READ BY MEN, a bold new theatrical event inspired by I HATE MEN by French feminist author Pauline Harmange. The production will debut at the Newcastle Fringe Festival from 20 to 22 March 2026, staged at the Islington Barracks Hotel.
Originally published in 2020, Harmange’s book sparked international headlines after a French government adviser attempted to ban it. The controversy only fuelled its popularity. Now translated into 20 languages, the essays have become a touchstone for contemporary feminist debate. This stage adaptation takes the provocation one step further. Harmange’s words will be read, examined and wrestled with by men.
Described as part lecture, part pub yarn, part cultural cleanse, the work invites audiences into a live, conversational experience rather than a conventional play. There is no neat resolution promised. Instead, the production leans into friction, contradiction and humour, underscored by iconic feminist rock anthems and sharp cultural commentary.
At the helm is multi award winning director Brittanie Shipway, whose career spans new Australian writing, musical theatre development and critically acclaimed productions. Her recent staging of BARBRA: THE GREATEST STAR at Hayes Theatre Co. sold out and earned a wave of five star reviews. As a performer she has appeared with Bell Shakespeare and in the Australian musical THE DISMISSAL, but this marks her first opportunity to develop I HATE MEN AS READ BY MEN from the ground up.
Shipway says the project is designed to keep audiences unsettled.
I’m interested in theatre that doesn’t tell you what to think, she explains. This work is bold, funny and uncomfortable. It will feel different night to night because the audience changes the energy. That’s what theatre should be. It’s alive.
Her cast brings a diverse mix of musical theatre, dramatic writing and socially engaged performance to the table.
Haydan Hawkins, a Sydney based actor and singer, has appeared in national tours of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESER, MISS SAIGON and INTO THE WOODS, as well as television projects including THE UNLISTED. Jordan Shea is an award winning writer and performer whose work has been developed by Queensland Theatre Company, Belvoir, Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company. A recipient of multiple fellowships, he was recently named the 2026 National Library of Australia Creative Arts Fellow. Tana Laga’aia, an Australian born Samoan performer and NIDA graduate, has appeared in RENT on national tour and at Sydney Opera House, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, and BARBRA: THE GREATEST STAR.
Together, they approach Harmange’s writing not as a provocation to solve but as a conversation to enter. The concept positions male performers as interpreters of a text that explicitly critiques male power, inviting audiences to consider how listening, discomfort and accountability operate in real time.
Harmange herself has endorsed the adaptation, describing the concept as a “brilliant Trojan horse”.
Men often prefer listening to other men, she notes. If this makes more men listen, then that’s powerful.
Produced by Stoddart Entertainment Group, with Daniel Stoddart as Executive Producer and Taylor Tran as Associate Producer, the work forms part of SEG’s 2026 season dedicated to perspective shifting theatre. Based in Newcastle, SEG has built a reputation for high production values and ambitious programming that bridges commercial and independent practice.
Stoddart says the aim is not to provide answers but to generate energy.
We want audiences to laugh, squirm, reflect and argue, ideally all at once. This is about creating space for big ideas around gender, power, privilege and complicity to be explored with intelligence and courage.
The Newcastle Fringe premiere places the work in an intimate, accessible setting rather than a traditional proscenium theatre. The Islington Barracks Hotel venue reinforces the show’s conversational, pub style framing. It also signals a broader shift in how complex social discourse can be staged outside metropolitan main stages.
Musically anchored by songs audiences recognise, the production resists categorisation. It is not strictly comedy, though laughter is expected. It is not a lecture, though audiences may leave with plenty to unpack. Instead it positions itself as a live cultural encounter, where ideas are tested aloud and the room itself becomes part of the dramaturgy.
With further development and touring planned beyond the festival, I HATE MEN AS READ BY MEN is poised to extend its conversation nationally. Whether audiences arrive curious, defensive, enthusiastic or sceptical, the work promises to meet them head on.
In a theatrical landscape increasingly interested in participation and provocation, this world premiere offers something deliberately combustible. It asks what happens when a controversial feminist text is placed in male hands and presented not as a statement, but as an invitation.
For three nights in March, Newcastle Fringe will provide the stage. What unfolds after that may depend as much on the audience as the performers.
Venue: Islington Barracks Hotel
Date: 20–22 March 2026
For more information click HERE
