Why four Aussie musicals have recently been cancelled

This week, the Australian run of Waitress: The Musical was forced to close early.

The show, starring Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Rob Mills, will no longer play its planned Sydney season, with producers citing “softer box office performances across the country”.

It’s the fourth major musical cancelled or cut short in recent months, as cost of living pressures squeeze how much Australians can spend on live entertainment.

Industry groups are now calling on the Government for financial support to ease the pressure on live productions.

Cancelled shows

Problems first began in January, when Back to the Future: The Musical closed early. Originally slated as a national tour, the production never made it past Sydney after slow ticket sales.

Beetlejuice: The Musical announced it will wrap up in Brisbane this week, more than a month early. Producer Michael Cassel Group cited touring costs and a “cautious consumer environment” behind the decision.

Waitress has scrapped its Sydney season entirely. The show will now instead close in Melbourne on 19 July. Producer John Frost pointed to cost of living pressures and slow ticket sales.

Arena di Verona’s production of Aida has now been cancelled twice. TEG Live CEO Claudia Cottee told the ABC a jump in freight costs made the show impossible to stage without a loss.

Why?

A Creative Australia survey found 74% of Australians attended a live arts event in 2025 – the highest level on record.

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However, 60% said ticket prices were the biggest barrier to going more often.
Live productions are also incredibly expensive to produce and tour. Major musicals need long, multi-city runs to recover their huge upfront costs, including sets, freight, cast, crew and marketing.

On top of that, Australia doesn’t have a dedicated theatre tax incentive like the UK, or the incentives available to Australia’s film and television industry.

UK Example

The UK offers producers a rebate called Theatre Tax Relief.

It lets production companies claim back up to 45% of what they spend making a show, including on things like sets, costumes and rehearsals.

If a production is losing money, the Government pays that percentage back in cash. If it’s profitable, it reduces the company’s tax bill instead.

Since it started in 2014, the scheme has helped fund productions across the UK and encouraged private investment in theatre.

Response

After the run of Waitress was cut short this week, Bassingthwaighte posted to social media, saying: “The arts is dying in this country, and that hurts my heart beyond anything”.

Live Performance Australia, the peak body for the industry, has called for a 40% tax offset for live theatre shows, mirroring the UK’s model.

Industry union the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance is also calling on the Government to fund “Cultural Passes” that would offset the cost of tickets to cultural events.