Byrne, who was last seen on an Australian stage in 2001 and on Broadway last year in You Can't Take it With You, is set to star in David Mamet's Speed the Plow, which will be directed by Upton in November 2016.

The season will also feature well-known Australian actors Ryan Corr ("Holding the Man"), Robyn Nevin ("The Matrix Revolutions"), Lisa McCune ("Blue Heelers") and John Howard ("Packed to the Rafters"), among others, as well as the Australian premiere of Ayad Akhtar's Broadway hit, Disgraced.

The slate will showcase the works of Tom Stoppard, Noel Coward, Arthur Miller, William Shakespeare, Georges Feydeau and Mamet. International productions featured in the new season include Almeida's West End staging of King Charles III and the U.K.'s 1927 company's acclaimed Golem, blending live music, performance, film and animation.

"This, my last program for the Company, fills me with huge excitement - if a little tinged with melancholy," commented Upton in a press statement. "There are rumours I’m going away next year but the plays on offer are so alluring I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep away." British director Johnathan Church is set to take over the helm; read more here. 

"We have a range of fantastic classics forming the keel of our wonderful ship. Arthur Miller at last, Louis Nowra at last, Noel Coward at last. But also some new Australian works...It’s a wonderful mix of actors and writers, directors and designers, many of whom our audience will know and love. Others still that they will be thrilled to see for the first time in a long time," Upton added. Season tickets are on sale from Sept. 8 by calling 612 9250 1777 or visiting STC.