


Sometimes you get stuck with the cards you’ve been dealt, but Pam is determined to shuffle the deck for her daughter.
Out on the edge of a satellite city, is Burra Creek, home to the world’s largest online retail warehouse, and tonight Pam (Kat Stewart) is working the nightshift, while her daughter Rae, back home, is also pulling an all-nighter, for very different reasons.
City folks drive the highway to Burra Creek for the op-shops, Biryani and famous kebab, but for the kids, there’s not so much to do, except hang with someone who makes you laugh, dances with shopping trolleys, and who you wouldn’t mind kissing.
No one sees Pam, as she catches three buses to the warehouse while the rest of us sleep, but as her night unfolds, she sees a better life for her daughter, and she’ll stop at nothing to secure it. Sometimes you’ve got to break the rules to break the cycle. And while Rae is at the top of her class, it’s hard to climb the rungs of opportunity when you live in a place the NBN forgot.
Break of Day is a story where humour is armour, grit is generosity, and the universal struggle between a mum and her daughter, is everything.
Premiering at Malthouse Theatre after winning the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award and The Australian Writers Guild Prize for Playwriting, Steve Rodgers’ Break of Day also sees Sarah Goodes and Kat Stewart collaborate again after the success of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Red Stitch, Comedy Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company). This is a story that asks how far determination can go to change the course.
7th August, 2026
29th August, 2026

Ground floor of The Malthouse is accessible by wheelchair (enter via the ramp near the Box Office). The Merlyn and Beckett Theatre, MALT Kitchen & Pantry, Box Office, Bar and bathrooms are all located on the ground floor.
GETTING TO THE VENUE
BY TRAM: The No. 1 South Melbourne tram goes right past our door. Get off at Stop 18. Any tram down St Kilda Road—jump off at Grant Street, Stop 17 and take a 3-minute walk.
BY TRAIN: Any train to Flinders Street, then a 12-minute stroll through Melbourne’s sparkling Arts Precinct.
BY BIKE: Secure your bike to one of the many racks outside the foyer.
BY CAR: Limited on-street parking is available on Grant Street, Sturt Street and Dodds Streets. Two disabled parking spaces are just outside The Malthouse entrance on Sturt Street.
Writer: Steve Rodgers
Director: Sarah Goodes
Set & Costume Designer: Anna Cordingley
Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson
Composer & Sound Designer: Jethro Woodward
Intimacy Coordinator: Amy Carter
CAST:
Pamela: Kat Stewart
Pop: Richard Piper
Break of Day is at Melbourne's Merlyn Theatre | Malthouse Theatre, which is located at 113 Sturt Street, Southbank, Melbourne, 3006.
Break of Day tickets start at $74.
Check the top of this page for current availability and exclusive offers on Break of Day tickets on TodayTix.