Hayes Theatre Co has announced that the award-winning sold-out hit of 2025, Phar Lap: The Electro-Swing Musical, will return in 2027.
This new Australian musical with the biggest heart returns to Sydney in an expanded, unbridled production playing at Carriageworks, before a national tour including a season at Melbourne Theatre Company, Merrigong Theatre Company, Geelong Arts Centre, The Art House Wyong, and many more.
A gangly Kiwi racehorse. A trainer down on his luck. A nation ready to believe in a long-shot. Phar Lap: The Electro-Swing Musical is the rags-to-riches story that galloped into history, reimagined with heart, wit and a toe-tapping electro-swing score.
The road isn’t easy – there are gambling scandals, double-crosses, an attempted shooting and a career-threatening addiction to sugar. It’s high stakes, high drama and highly historically accurate.
Phar Lap boasts an irresistible electro-swing score by Steven Kramer, with inspirations from Duke Ellington to Daft Punk. Brassy, lively and retro – these songs will take you from the race course to the rave hall.
It was an unprecedented sold-out hit at Hayes in 2025, and now Phar Lap gallops back to Sydney, again starring New Zealand born but Australian claimed triple threat Joel Granger (Guys and Dolls, The Book of Mormon) as the titular hero.
Winner of three 2025 Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Production of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Sheridan Harbridge) and Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Musical (Joel Granger), Phar Lap swaps horse shoes for tap shoes celebrating Australia’s big-hearted equine hero.
“Phar Lap is a really special show – it’s funny, it’s clever, it’s undeniably unique – and truly deserving of the praise it’s received as a new Australian classic,” said Richard Carroll and Victoria Falconer, Artistic Directors, Hayes Theatre Co.
“Audiences at our Hayes season were genuinely bowled over by this energetic, irreverent telling of a story that’s so deeply ingrained in our collective culture – so it’s very exciting that many more people will now have the chance to see it.”
Pop the champagne, harness up and get ready for a wild ride. Phar Lap: The Electro-Swing Musical is the show that will stop the nation in 2027!
“Steven Kramer delivers a remarkable trifecta: great music, sharp lyrics, and an outrageously bonkers book to match.” – Cultural Binge
Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical will play at Carriageworks from 8 July – 8 August 2027. Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit: www.hayestheatre.com.au for details. The production will tour to selected venues in 2027. More details to come…
Image: Phar Lap: The Electro Swing Musical (2025) – photo by John McCrae