Wackadoo! Bluey’s Big Play the Stage Show is back!
The much-loved cartoon character will return to the stage with an Australian tour next year.
The production will feature puppets in a theatrical adaption of the Emmy Award-winning children’s TV series.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
Fans will see Bluey, Bingo, Chilli and Bandit on stage, puppeteer Jacob Williams told Sunrise on Tuesday.
“We haven’t done a big tour of Australia since 2021, and this tour is going to be going on for about 12 months — all the major cities but also a lot of regional places,” Williams said.
“We get out to everywhere. Every kid’s going to get a chance to see it.”
Williams said children’s reactions to the show is akin to the fan frenzy whenever legendary musicians The Beatles performed.
He said Bluey skips onto stage after a protracted monologue, and the show becomes like a “rock concert” for the young audience.
Williams said it was a “big process” getting the show together.
“You have to decide, design, build the puppets and there’s a lot of consultation there,” he said.
“Then you have to work with the puppet to bring them to life. It’s a physical artform and often it’s like a game of Twister.
“There’s lot of twisting and arms going through different parts of the body.
“(Being a puppeteer) is similar to being an actor but an actor’s tool is their body and you have to take everything and bring that into your hands and deliver the soul into the puppet.”
Bluey has an international following, performing in the UK, Ireland, Canada, the US, Europe, Singapore, South Africa, and the UAE.
Bluey’s Big Play the Stage Show features original voices from the TV sensation, including the instantly recognisable voices of Melanie Zanetti as mum and Dave McCormack as dad.
Since bursting on to TV screens in Australia in 2018, Bluey has enjoyed critical success at home and abroad, most recently winning Best Children’s Program at the 2025 TV WEEK Logie Awards.
Bluey has also won a 2022 BAFTA Children and Young People Award in the International category and picked up its sixth AACTA Best Children’s Program award to add to an international Emmy.
Additionally, it has won APRA screen music awards and ARIA music awards.
“They all get it — kids are kids,” Williams said of the show’s popularity.
“I remember going to Singapore thinking that’s a conservative country but kids went wild.
“Bluey is so relatable. We all grow up in families. We all see parts of our own lives through them.
“It hits that perfect blend of hilarity and poignancy for adults and kids alike.”
Bluey’s Big Play the Stage Show will start in Melbourne on December 29, before moving onto Canberra, Sydney, Wollongong, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Gold Coast and a number of regional towns along the way.
Ticket details and further information available via Blueylive.
Stream free on
