A GIANT ADVENTURE. A LITTLE MAGIC. ONE
UNMISSABLE MELBOURNE SUMMER.
Shake & Stir Theatre Co’s acclaimed James and the Giant
Peach arrives at the Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited
January season
Melbourne is in for a deliciously juicy summer adventure! Following acclaimed sold-out seasons in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, Shake & Stir Theatre Co’s spectacular stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach will take over Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre for a strictly limited season in January 2027.
Brimming with Dahl’s signature wit, wicked humour and outrageous imagination, this much-loved production promises a larger-than-life theatrical adventure for families, devoted Dahl fans and anyone with an appetite for the extraordinary.
Playing as Melbourne welcomes the world for the Australian Open, James and the Giant Peach adds a little theatrical magic to the city’s summer calendar. Between courtside thrills and school-holiday adventures, audiences can step inside the Comedy Theatre and escape into a world where insects become friends, courage comes in unexpected sizes and a peach can take you anywhere.
For young James Henry Trotter, life with his spectacularly unpleasant aunts is anything but peachy. But when a mysterious encounter sets an extraordinary transformation in motion, James discovers an enormous peach, a wonderfully eccentric crew of insect companions and the possibility of a life far beyond his wildest dreams.
What follows is a breathtaking escape across oceans and continents, packed with peril, laughter and unexpected friendships.
Adapted by Nelle Lee and directed by Ross Balbuziente, the production combines inventive live performance, large-scale animation, music and movement to bring Dahl’s fantastical world to the stage. Beneath the mischief and mayhem lies a moving celebration of kindness, belonging and the courage to imagine something better.
The Melbourne season continues Shake & Stir’s celebrated tradition of reimagining Dahl’s stories for contemporary audiences, following the success of The Twits, Fantastic Mr Fox and George’s Marvellous Medicine.
Shake & Stir Co-Artistic Director and the production’s director, Ross Balbuziente, said:
“There is something irresistible about Dahl’s imagination. His worlds are gloriously outrageous, his villains wonderfully dreadful, and his young heroes remind us that being small doesn’t mean you can’t do something extraordinary.
“With James and the Giant Peach, we wanted to create theatre that feels as adventurous as the story itself. Top full of surprises, delicious mischief and moments of real wonder.
“The response in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra has been a joy. Now, bringing the production to the Comedy Theatre during Melbourne’s summer is enormously exciting. Whether families are visiting for the tennis, making a day of it in the city or discovering live theatre together for the first time, we can’t wait to welcome them aboard.”
First published in 1961, James and the Giant Peach has enchanted generations of readers. This January, its extraordinary journey becomes a Melbourne summer adventure.
One enormous peach. A most unlikely crew. The adventure of a lifetime.
Roald Dahl’s
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH
Comedy Theatre, Melbourne | 9 – 17 January 2027
Adapted by Nelle Lee
Directed by Ross Balbuziente
A Shake & Stir Theatre Co production
Strictly limited season. Tickets on sale Friday 9 October via www.ticketek.com.au