Sydney Theatre Company have launched their 2009 Mainstage Season, the first to be programmed by new artistic directors Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton.

Tommy Murphy’s play Saturn’s Return, which is currently playing in the smaller theatre at The Wharf, will return next year as a fully fledged main stage show, again directed by David Berthold and featuring Leeanna Walsman as the complicated heroine. It’s very exciting news for Tommy, who has gone from strength to strength since the runaway success of his stage work Holding The Man.

Cate Blanchett will take to the stage as Blanche in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. The show will be directed by the legendary Liv Ullmann and will also star Joel Edgerton as Stanley. Last time Cate performed for Sydney Theatre Company they had to build extra rows of seats in the venue, and sell standing room tickets to accommodate the demand. After the Sydney season the show will tour overseas to New York and Washington.

Cate’s Hollywood connections come into play with the inclusion of a ‘secret’ production, still under wraps, which will be directed by Academy Award-winner Steven Soderbergh, whose films include the Ocean’s Eleven series, Traffic, Erin Brockovich and Sex, Lies, And Videotape.

Exciting times ahead for Sydney theatre-goers! To grab a copy of the 2009 Main Stage Season brochure SMS your name and address to 0427 016 327 or you can call on 02 9250 1777.

Photo 1: Sahlan Hayes, 2: Brett Boardman.