Theatre

Year 7-11 students from Barham High School had a taste of the theatre, acting and stepping out of their comfort zone with the Bell Shakespeare artist in residence program. Working with the famous Australian national touring Theatre Company Bell Shakespeare, students were offered a chance to immerse themselves in Shakespeare texts at the Golden Rivers Theatre Group home at the Faulkner Pavillion in Barham.

Volunteers of the Pelican Playhouse Committee are calling on the Clarence Valley community to assist them as they actively seek grant funding opportunities to restore and rebuild the iconic property in South Grafton. Following the devastating bushfires during 2019 and 2020, which impacted a number of theatre members, and the Covid-19 pandemic which forced the cancellation of several auditions and rehearsals, the Pelican Playhouse sustained significant structural damage during 2022 when devastating flooding occurred throughout Northern NSW.

Over 400 people enjoyed local theatre at its best on the weekend as they watched The Emperor’s New Clothes performed by the Piggery Lane Players. A big shout out goes to director, Will Lynch, and assistant director, Karen Shurdington, along with the talented cast and skilled crew as they brought this classic folktale to life.

After its 2023 premiere season and whistlestop tour of Far North Queensland’s small halls, More than Tea and Scones, the play recognising 100 years of effort by the women of the Queensland Country Women’s Association (QWCA), is back on the road next month, bound for nine stages in the state’s southeast.

Sophie Baldwin. It is only 15 days until the curtain opens on the Golden Rivers Theatre Group’s spring production of The Emperor’s New Clothes. And it is going to be amazing according to performer and committee member Russ Allen.

Sebastian Calderon. A highly acclaimed dinner theatre production that is sparking conversation about mental health and wellbeing is returning to Loxton. After last year’s success, ‘Kick off ya Boots’ makes a comeback in 2024 for a new glimpse of the Connor family’s farming journey, with the show organised by Little Town Productions.

A new play by Cathouse Players is set in France and will be performed in Kyneton, but its star performers are Maldon and Castlemaine locals. ‘Trap for a Lonely Man’ is an intriguing mystery featuring familiar faces ... The Hitchcockian suspense is high in this 1960 comedy-mystery by French playwright and actor, Robert Thomas.

Jenny Pollard. A madcap romp filled with stunning vocals, incredible music and eye-catching costumes drew loud applause from the large crowd which attended the Lyster Opera performance of "The Italian Girl in Algiers" at The Rex last Saturday afternoon. The Charlton production kicked off the company tour which is headed across regional Victoria as well as a number of Melbourne locations.

Powerful, enlightening and entertaining, My Cousin Frank is a storytelling experience with one of Australia’s greatest artistic and cultural leaders, Rhoda Roberts AO. Join Rhoda in a special evening as she shares tales of her first cousin Frank Roberts, a boxing champion who was the first Aboriginal Olympian. 

The Empire’s popular family festival Thrive on Arts will return from September 26-29, celebrating all things nature and the environment. Sponsored by C&K Childcare and Kindergarten, Thrive on Arts is an annual four-day festival celebrating play, imagination, creativity and storytelling, held during the spring school holidays alongside the iconic Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.

Corryong College presented its own version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland to appreciative audiences from June 19th to 21st, infusing contemporary elements into the timeless story. More than 100 students developed their acting, singing, musical and technical skills throughout Semester 1 culminating in a ‘wonderful wonderland’ of characters and musical experiences...

Casterton local and Year 10 student at The Hamilton and Alexandra College, Sarah Crowle, is heading to New York City to perform under the bright lights of Broadway. Sarah auditioned at the Victorian Dance Festival, held in Melbourne during April, and received an invitation to attend the New York City Musical Theatre Summer Intensive program.

Improvements at the Kyogle Memorial Institute were finished just in time for the latest production by Village Hall Players. 37 Postcards still has performances this week...

Kurrajong Performance Group enjoyed a successful premiere of their play ‘When Juliet Met Johnny’ over the weekend. They had their opening show on Friday and a huge closing show on Sunday, with over 750 people filling the CRC Theatre at Narrandera across the two days.

Steve North said it was fate after a play he wrote a couple of years ago was recently announced as one of eight winners in the nationwide Sage Age Playwriting Competition. Entitled The Last Rehearsal, Mr North’s play is based on a theatre group who are preparing to rehearse ahead of an upcoming performance, but unbeknownst to their director ...

NORPA is taking audiences on an adventure outside the theatre once again, announcing it will stage its original work Wildskin in a warehouse space at the Lismore Showgrounds. A sensory, destination-theatre experience, Wildskin inhabits an outrageous and unpredictable world that’s part bush-thriller, part road-trip and a whole lot of NORPA’s signature theatrical style.

Have you heard fungi talk? Have you felt the forest hum? Understory is a magical, interactive theatre adventure created for children by Roundabout Theatre, springing to life in the Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens this April school holidays...

Ten people have got together to bring you Fanny’s Knickers. Most of the 10 have never acted before yet decided to join the Village Players to perform the slapstick, period melodrama three times at Club Evans.

Daisy Baker. As locations across Tasmania are being transformed into immersive art spaces for Mona Foma, an independent gym in Launceston is preparing to host world-class circus professionals for two adults-only evenings this week. Tasmanian circus company ROOKE will present DEKOOR in Method Plus Action gym, playfully exploring gym culture, training and voyeurism.

Michelle Daw. Stenhouse Bay and a rising full moon formed the stunning backdrop to the on-Country preview of Adelaide Festival production, Guuranda, at the weekend ... It tells the creation stories of Guuranda/Yorke Peninsula and is led by artistic director and Narungga /Kaurna theatre-maker Jacob Boehme.

Hitting the Queensland roads in February and March, audiences in Gympie, Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton, and Bundaberg are destined to be uplifted and enthralled by six stories of strength and resilience in the one original and heart-warming theatre production of GRIT. Developed in 2022 after Gympie’s devastating floods ...

A lone performer. An unseen script. A show without borders. Join Australian comedian, and Helpmann award-winning actor, Darren Gilshenan as he boldly steps onto the stage, opens an envelope, and reads a script for the very first time, in front of a full house. White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is a groundbreaking play from Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour.