2021 Australian Musical Theatre Festival Headliners Announced

The Australian Musical Theatre Festival is thrilled to announce the appointment of our 2021 Festival Headline Artists, the internationally acclaimed Callum Francis, Simon Gleeson, and Natalie O’Donnell.

Between them, they have starred in a plethora of blockbuster musicals, conquered the world’s stages and become familiar faces locally. All wonderful performers, all wonderful teachers and all coming to Launceston in May, 2021.

Callum Francis hails from England but is now happily based in Australia, having first toured to Melbourne as Lola, in the Premiere of ‘Kinky Boots’! For this role he was personally chosen by composer Cyndi Lauper and has since donned the boots for stardom across England and on Broadway! He has also appeared in ‘Miss Saigon’, ‘The Lion King’ and most recently ‘Rent’.

Simon Gleeson has appeared in musicals from ‘Oklahoma’ to ‘Chess’ to ‘Love Never Dies’ but is best known for his starring role as Jean Valjean in ‘Les Misérables’, which he has played all over the world, from Melbourne to London’s West End.

Natalie O’Donnell has played starring roles in ‘Spelling Bee’, ‘Crazy for You’, ‘Jerry’s Girls’ and has the distinction of playing the juvenile lead role of Sophie in the original Australian Cast of ‘Mamma Mia’, a show she returned to in the last Australian tour this time portraying the leading role of Sophie’s mum, Donna.

These acclaimed talents will join forces, along with a host of industry heavyweights to celebrate, interrogate and proliferate Musical Theatre in the city of Launceston in a truly national festival, unlike any seen before and all designed within a COVID-aware environment.

The festival will consist of classes for all ages and abilities, teacher’s development programs and, of course a host of performances, panels and concerts across a five-day period in May. Many of these performances will be led by these three Festival Headliners, along with the soon to be announced supporting team of leading industry professionals, and a host of wonderful local talent.

Festival Executive Producer, Tyran Parke is bursting with enthusiasm over securing these three mega-talents to headline the 2021 offerings.

To have just one of these names is a coup but to have all three performing and collaborating together in Launceston is nothing short of a miracle. Each are wonderful singers who are rarely seen outside of big commercial musicals in Melbourne and Sydney, each are passionate educators, and each are committed to finding new ways of exploring Musical Theatre in Australia, while celebrating the rich history of what has been. The Festival will be a meeting place to develop new work, celebrate the classics and engage in local Launceston culture, through the elements of Musical Theatre; song, dance and story.

From his dressing room at the Sydney Opera House, Callum Francis shared these thoughts:

Natalie O’Donnell commeneted:

Simon and I are thrilled to be invited to be a part of this year’s festival. The landscape of Australian Musical theatre is a rich and vibrant one and to be a part of this National Festival which not only celebrates and highlights Australian works, stories and professional artists but also invests in young performers and our future stars, is truly exciting.

The Australian Musical Theatre Festival is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania, the City of Launceston plus many local businesses.

The Australian Musical Theatre Festival acknowledges and respects the palawa people as the traditional and ongoing custodians of lutruwita. We pay our respects to elders’ past, present and emerging.