Getting Personnel With LACERATING New Sketch-Comedy H.R. THE MUSICAL

Fresh from sellout seasons across New Zealand a delighted response from audiences in Adelaide, satirical sketch comedy H.R. The Musical is crossing the ditch for its Australian premiere season in 2026, performing ten nights at the aptly named Solidarity Hall at Trades Hall during Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Poking a very pointed comic stick at the amusing and messy realities of modern office life, this must-see show is the one everyone will be talking about at the water cooler and on the Slack channels. Nothing is off-limits, from endless restructures to token DEI initiatives to the rise of AI, with original songs written for the show spanning a multitude of genres, including latin plainchant, rap battle, blues, and more.

 

 

The song titles hint at the show’s irreverence: ‘Lay Your Global All-Hands on Me’, a risqué jazzy number about corporate dreams; ‘Have I Told You Lately You’re a [redacted]?’, an aria about dealing with “difficult” people; ‘The St H.R. Passion, spoken-word number drawn verbatim from LinkedIn posts; ‘DEI Patter Song’ – a musical-theatre song about Uniformity and Exclusion; ‘Boundarilessness’ – a hippy corporate values song; ‘Mansplain it to Me’ – a ballad about co-worker communication.

 

 

Writer-Producer Amy Mansfield:

We’re delighted to be bringing to Melbourne audiences our take on the mad work-world we all make our way through every day. We welcome you to the team stand-up along with your workmates, your clients, and even your boss. H.R. The Musical is for anyone who’s ever had a job, or thought about getting one.

Mansfield is a strong believer in the wisdom and voice of audiences, both in her artistic practice and as a producer.  Everyone has a work story to tell, and the more absurd the better!” For H.R. The Musical, she crowd-sourced work stories from real-life human resources and the all-female cast includes current and former HR professionals. We’ve been told the show is close-to-the-bone, even brutal, I think because that’s what everyone’s living through.

The show’s director, Katie Burson:

The world of H.R. The Musical is absurd, irreverent, and cathartic, speaking to the best and worst parts of the daily grind while providing essential reprieve. You don’t have to work in corporate or government to recognise these characters, making this experience relatable to the worker in all of us.

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Season Details

Venue: BankSA Theatre, Gluttony
Date: 19 Feb – 8 Mar 2026

Venue: Solidarity Hall, Trades Hall
Date: 26 Mar – 05 Apr 2026

Venue: Bondi Pavilion
Date: 14 – 17 May 2026

For more information click HERE

Photo Credit: Michelle  McLennan