SUNDAY STORY TIME - UPSTAGEING FESTIVAL 2026

Sunday Story Time returns in 2026 as part of UPSTAGEING Canberra, Australia’s first large-scale Creative Ageing Arts Festival, celebrating the bold, brilliant, and diverse creative expression of older Canberrans throughout March. With performances, exhibitions, workshops, and opportunities to participate, UPSTAGEING champions artistic excellence, inclusive practice, and the wellbeing benefits of lifelong creativity.

Now in its third year, Sunday Story Time is The Mill Theatre’s annual storytelling event and a welcoming space for writers of all kinds. Over summer, writers from across Canberra submitted their stories — and on Sunday 22 and 29 March, you’ll hear them brought to life on stage. With just a chair, a light, and an attentive audience, each piece unfolds live, ranging from 1 to 20 minutes. Some stories have been years in the making; others are being shared publicly for the very first time. Together, they form an intimate, generous evening of voices stepping out of the drawer and into the room.

Across two evenings, writers share stories that are funny, heartfelt, vulnerable, defiant, or quietly profound. For 2026, all selected stories will be performed by professional actors from the Mill Theatre and those undergoing Mill Theatre training.

Due to a wonderful amount of submissions, in 2026 each evening will have different stories!

Sunday Story Time Performers: Andrea Close, Sarah Hartley, Aleksis Andreitchenko, Richard Manning, Sarah Stewart, Chipz Jin, Nabil Kanengoni, Arianwen Harris

Sunday 22 March 5pm-7pm

The Lessons I’ve Learned by Sarah Stewart
Ghost Election by Michael T Schaper
Dancing With Delight by Barry McGloin
A Random Encounter by Jenny Burgess
It’s Time by Heidi Silberman
A little bit of goodness by Elizabeth Masters
Goulburn Gertie's Lament by David Cole
A Kid, A Car and A Bridge by James Balian
My Last Creep by Jane Ahlquist
Being Alive by Barry McGloin
Books and kindness galore by Jennifer Barton
THE BLOUSE by Bart Meehan

Sunday 29 March 5pm-7pm

Dogs, Loss, and Chocolate by Andrew Brown
I am a Blood Donor by Bres
MEAN GIRLS by Amanda Mackenzie
Not Owls. Not Ours by Bres
Sun, Sea, Salads and Souvlaki by Stuart McLennan
One Among Many by Juliana Lazzari
Revenge by Jenny Burgess
The ladder Rosetta Fitzgerald
The Druid in the Corner Shop by Mark Fenton-Jones
Last of Our Kind by Andrew Brown
The Plunge: Goodragandra River by John Reid
The Eternal Woman by Robert Vinnicombe
Ragtime in Eden by Roger Vickery and Ian Hood
When We Were Young by Rhys Hekimian

This production is supported by the Council on the Ageing (ACT) and the UPSTAGEING Festival.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The UPSTAGEING Festival is hosted by Council on the Ageing ACT (COTA ACT). COTA ACT is a local organisation working to improve the lives of older people in the Canberra community.

They work with older people, their families and friends, community organisations, business and government to identify gaps and implement services and programs to encourage older people to participate in the community and contribute to their fullest.

COTA ACT is part of the national federation of COTA’s, which has representation in every state and territory and work with national body COTA Australia in policy development, advocacy and representation for older Australians at a federal level.

TICKETS

General admission tickets are $40 exclusive of GST and Humanitix booking fees. In 2026 The Mill had to increase tickets by passing on GST to patrons (we are very sorry to do this but the BAS payments are rotten!)

Concession tickets for Full-Time Students, Health Care or Pension Card holders are $35 exclusive of GST and Humanitix booking fees.

Mill Subscribers get tickets at reduced prices. You can subscribe here for the same deal!

Tickets are fully transferable up to one day before the event only. No refunds are available.

Tickets are for entry only and are available online until one hour before the show. From that point, box office tickets in person are available for purchase.

The information below goes into a lot of detail but if you have further questions, please email us at hello@milltheatreatdairyroad.com. A small team can see that inbox and we respond very quickly. The Mill is a very quirky space and we want to welcome you!

SEATING & ACCESS

All tickets are general admission and no seats are reserved so the earlier you arrive, the better position you will have. If you have any access needs and require reserved seating you must email us before the show please hello@milltheatreatdairyroad.com
Seating is in an L-shape to create a dynamic and intimate playing space.
The venue is fully accessible for wheelchairs with a ramp from the P3 parking spot and same level access from entry into building 3.3 into the theatre all the way to the accessible seating positions inside the Mill. We have two wheelchair seating positions both with very different views. Please contact us at hello@milltheatreatdairyroad.com so we can talk through the options, including adding companion card tickets. One option is on the short side, the other option is on the long side. All accessible bookings will be reserved.
Every seat in the house has a great view, and a different view. Patrons walk through the set to find your seats, adding to the intimacy of the space. This means, late arrivals or patrons who leave the theatre before intermission or the end will NOT BE ADMITTED TO THE THEATRE.

ARRIVAL & PROTOCOLS

ENTERING

Please head to the Box Office on arrival. You really must do this please. If you have already purchased a ticket, the Front of House team checks off the name of every booked attendee. Please do not try to walk directly into the theatre.
If you haven’t purchased a ticket, you can get one onsite an hour before show time. However, it is a very small theatre and we have started selling out and we do not hold any seats.
The doors open approximately 15 minutes before show time. The Front of House team will let you know when you can enter.

LOCK OUT

Due to the unique layout of the venue, the audience walks through the stage to take their seats. This means we cannot accommodate anyone slipping in late for the beginning of the show or for the return after intermission. This also means, if you need to leave during the show, we cannot allow you back in. If patrons are rude or resistant about this fact then it makes for both an unsafe and unpleasant time for everyone. Please think about this before you book and before you arrive.
The Front of House team rings a bell and counts the audience to ensure you won’t miss out but please don’t tempt fate otherwise you will be locked out and we cannot let you in. We even call any audience who might be running late to make sure you won’t miss the show!

CAST AND CREW

We have a COVID-contingency cast member. This process means that should any cast or crew be unwell, our contingency cast will step in to ensure the safest environment for the company and audience. The Front of House team will ensure audiences are alerted to any changes before each show.

LOCATION

The Mill Theatre is in Building 3.3, the Screencraft and KeepCo building which is a short walk from Capital Brewing. There are two easy ways to approach the Theatre:

PARK in P3 at the back of the precinct. From there you will see building 3.3 which has a large Screencraft sign. The public entrance is just up from that sign (not underneath it!). Once inside, walk about 5 metres and the theatre is to the right, next to Mojo Guitars.

WALK from Capital Brewing or the Less sculpture into the KeepCo building, pass Ramen Daddy and at the end of the corridor we are on the left.

PARKING

All parking in the precinct is free with several accessible parking spots in all the parking locations. The best spot to park is P3 at the back of the precinct. If you park elsewhere please be warned that signage and way-finding around the precinct is extremely difficult. Arrive in plenty of time to possibly get lost, possibly be in a bad mood, and remedy that with a drink at our bar before enjoying a smashing show!

Contact the host of Sunday Story Time March 2026