Switzerland
Season 5 - 1st October to 24th October, 2026
OUR FUNDRAISER:
Restore the 1812: Put Theatre in Lights
“Love is a lie we tell ourselves”
AVID Theatre, in a co-production with 1812 Theatre, are pleased to announce their October / November 2026 production of Closer by Patrick Marber.
Presented in the intimate setting of 1812’s The Bakery (Upper Ferntree Gully, Melbourne), this gripping and unflinching drama lays bare the anatomy of modern relationships. Closer follows four strangers whose lives collide in a volatile web of attraction, desire, betrayal, and brutal honesty. As love shifts and fractures, each character is forced to confront the uncomfortable truth about themselves and each other.
Raw, provocative, and emotionally exacting, this production promises an intense and immersive theatrical experience that places audiences uncomfortably close to the action and the consequences.
With an original soundtrack featuring emerging independent artists Freya Magee, LOLLXY and Timby.
Performance Details:
📅 28th October – 7th November (12 Performances Only)
📍 The bakery, @ The 1812 Theatre
🎟️ BOOK YOUR TICKETS : https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/closer/
Don’t miss this electrifying, limited season
CONTENT WARNING:
This production contains very strong language, graphic sexual references and mature themes. It is recommended for adult audiences 18 and over. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Oct 12
THE TENSION IS DEEPENING…
As SWITZERLAND enters its third week at the 1812 Theatre, the secrets are beginning to surface - and the carefully balanced relationship between two very different characters is becoming increasingly dangerous.
Joanna Murray-Smith’s psychological thriller draws us into a world where admiration and obsession become difficult to distinguish, and where every conversation seems to conceal another motive. As the story unfolds, the question is no longer simply who can be trusted, but who is really in control?
Presented in the intimate bakery performance space, Switzerland places you at the heart of this unsettling encounter, where the tension is palpable and nothing is quite what it seems.
With the season continuing until 24th October, there’s still time to discover what happens when the visitor arrives at the door - but perhaps not for much longer.
🎭 SWITZERLAND
By Joanna Murray-Smith
📍 The bakery | 1812 Theatre
📅 1st-24th October 2026
The third week begins. The stakes are getting higher.
#Switzerland #JoannaMurraySmith #1812Theatre #TheBakery #PsychologicalThriller #Thriller #LiveTheatre #TheatreLovers
Oct 11
WEEK 2 BEGINS - THE SUSPENSE CONTINUES…
After a gripping opening week, SWITZERLAND is about to take to the stage for the second week of its season at the 1812 Theatre.
Joanna Murray-Smith’s sophisticated psychological thriller draws us into an increasingly unsettling encounter between acclaimed crime writer Patricia Highsmith and a mysterious young visitor. What begins as a conversation soon becomes a dangerous game of manipulation, shifting power and hidden motives.
Performed in the intimate Bakery performance space, Switzerland brings the audience close to the action - where every revelation raises another question and nothing is quite what it seems.
If you haven’t seen it yet, now is the time to step inside.
🎭 SWITZERLAND
By Joanna Murray-Smith
📍 The Bakery | 1812 Theatre
📅 1-24 October 2026
Week Two is about to begin. The secrets are waiting.
#Switzerland #JoannaMurraySmith #1812Theatre #TheBakery #PsychologicalThriller #LiveTheatre
Oct 6
A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE WORLD OF SWITZERLAND…
The stage is set, the tension is building, and the doors to Patricia Highsmith’s secluded world are about to open.
These preview images offer a glimpse of what awaits in Joanna Murray-Smith’s SWITZERLAND — a sophisticated psychological thriller where admiration can become obsession, conversation can become confrontation, and nothing is quite as it first appears.
Set in the isolation of the Swiss Alps, two people come together with very different intentions. As their encounter unfolds, the balance of power shifts in unexpected ways, drawing us deeper into a story where truth, fiction and manipulation become increasingly difficult to separate.
🎭 SWITZERLAND
By Joanna Murray-Smith
📍 The Bakery | 1812 Theatre
📅 1–24 October 2026
https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/switzerland/
The story is about to begin.
Photo`s by Goldi Kaye
#Switzerland #JoannaMurraySmith #1812Theatre #TheBakery #PsychologicalThriller #Thriller #LiveTheatre #TheatreLovers
Sep 27
🎤 Spoken Word Returns – Friday 25th September!
Join us for another inspiring Spoken Word Evening in The Bakery, @ The 1812 Theatre - 3 Rose Street, Upper Ferntree Gully.
Whether you’re a poet, storyteller, or simply love listening to the power of the spoken word, this open mic night is for you.
✨ Share. Listen. Connect.
📅 25th September | 7:30 PM | The Bakery @ The 1812 Theatre
All are welcome — come along, take part, or just soak up the atmosphere.
Sep 24
THE MOST DANGEROUS STORIES ARE THE ONES THAT COME TRUE.
Deep in the Swiss Alps, Patricia Highsmith has withdrawn from the world. Acclaimed, enigmatic and fiercely private, she has built a life of solitude - surrounded by books, ideas and the characters who inhabit her dark imagination.
Then a young man arrives at her door.
He comes with an admiration for her work and an unexpected proposition. What follows begins as an intelligent conversation between writer and admirer, but beneath the surface something far more unsettling is taking shape. As their exchange becomes increasingly personal, the distinction between truth and invention begins to dissolve, and each character is forced to confront the stories they have told themselves - and the secrets they would rather leave untold.
Joanna Murray-Smith’s SWITZERLAND is a beautifully crafted psychological thriller about identity, obsession, authorship and the dangerous power of the imagination. Clever, darkly humorous and quietly menacing, it keeps its audience constantly questioning who is in control and where the truth really lies.
Sometimes the most unsettling thing about a story is not knowing where fiction ends and reality begins.
🎭 SWITZERLAND
By Joanna Murray-Smith
Directed by Andrew Ferguson
📍 The Bakery | 1812 Theatre
📅 1st - 24th October 2026
https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/switzerland/
Enter the world of Patricia Highsmith. But be careful what you believe.
#Switzerland
Sep 13
THE MOST DANGEROUS STORIES ARE THE ONES THAT COME TRUE.
Deep in the Swiss Alps, Patricia Highsmith has withdrawn from the world. Acclaimed, enigmatic and fiercely private, she has built a life of solitude - surrounded by books, ideas and the characters who inhabit her dark imagination.
Then a young man arrives at her door.
He comes with an admiration for her work and an unexpected proposition. What follows begins as an intelligent conversation between writer and admirer, but beneath the surface something far more unsettling is taking shape. As their exchange becomes increasingly personal, the distinction between truth and invention begins to dissolve, and each character is forced to confront the stories they have told themselves - and the secrets they would rather leave untold.
Joanna Murray-Smith’s SWITZERLAND is a beautifully crafted psychological thriller about identity, obsession, authorship and the dangerous power of the imagination. Clever, darkly humorous and quietly menacing, it keeps its audience constantly questioning who is in control and where the truth really lies.
Presented in the intimate bakery performance space at the 1812 Theatre, Switzerland puts you right inside Patricia’s house in the Swiss Alps; inside the confrontation. Close enough to feel the tension.
Sometimes the most unsettling thing about a story is not knowing where fiction ends and reality begins.
🎭 SWITZERLAND
By Joanna Murray-Smith
Directed by Andrew Ferguson
📍 The Bakery | 1812 Theatre
📅 1st - 24th October 2026
Enter the world of Patricia Highsmith. But be careful what you believe.
https://www.1812theatre.com.au/2026-season/switzerland/
#Switzerland #JoannaMurraySmith #1812Theatre #TheBakery #PsychologicalThriller #Thriller #LiveTheatre #TheatreLovers
Aug 30
