Theatre

A striking collaboration between artists of stage and screen honours the trials and triumphs of extraordinary everyman A.B. Facey, whose award-winning Australian classic autobiography, 'A Fortunate Life', has been adapted for theatrical presentation by THEATRE 180 and CinemaStage. ‘A Fortunate Life’ embraces themes that are intrinsic to our history and culture as modern Australians...

A new exhibition showcasing works by artists with disability will open in Alice Springs on Saturday, 25 March. Strong Feelings, which will take place at Red Hot Arts, includes a mixture of portraiture and storytelling, using costume, digital art, song, soundscapes, video and photography.

NORPA is creating a pop-up theatre making space and creative studio in a pavilion at Lismore Showgrounds that will be at the centre of the theatre company’s activity for 2023 ... “It is important for the NORPA Makers Hub to be in Lismore": NORPA’s Artistic Director Julian Louis.

Hungry Ghosts exposes the heart and soul of the gritty side of life on the fringe of Sydney in the lead up to the 2000 Olympics. It exposes the addictions and obsessions that torture the lives of these often misunderstood people. Hungry Ghosts is James May’s first full-length play and this will be its premier.

Get your calendars out and highlight these dates if you want to immerse yourself in a Sunshine Coast event like no other. Organisers have confirmed that the 2023 Horizon Festival, a 10-day showcase of culture, music, visual art, theatre, dance, comedy and creative workshops, will return in 2023 from August 25 to September 3.

Chairperson, Friends of the Liberty Theatre and Cultural Centre Inc, Bimbi Turner said the funding will help the theatre show classic and current release films for the community to enjoy, having been denied such pleasure for far too long. "This $250,000 grant is extremely exciting for the Friends of the Liberty Theatre and Cultural Centre Inc. in bringing to life the entertainment for the broader community in this iconic 1939 cinema by once again being able to show films."

The program of plays will open in April with the premiere of Hungry Ghosts written by James May and directed by Junia Wulf ... The second play to be staged in August is David Williamson’s Dead White Males, an exploration into the importance of language and truth ... Rounding off the season in November is Closer by Patrick Marber, to be directed by Kylie Fuad.

Lismore Theatre Company’s Count Dracula is urging Lismore people to give blood. “While the doors of Lismore’s Red Cross Lifeblood are closed, donors need to fly down to Ballina to donate,” said Count Dracula. “But we will be back here in December to take your blood.”

Bundjalung Nghari - Indigenise. This August, experience original theatre with Bundjalung Nghari (meaning: story), a collection of performed stories, poems and essays, penned by Bundjalung writers ... In September, Love for One Night at The Eltham Hotel is a circle dance of intersecting love stories told in the playful and theatrical style of NORPA’s sell-out shows Railway Wonderland and Dreamland.

On 2 September, The Wolves Theatre Company are bringing their play, Marooned, to Castlemaine. Marooned is an Australian play that The Sydney Morning Herald called, “A play about suicide that needs to be seen”.

Following George Walker is inspired by the life of Adelaide actor Rory Walker’s great grandfather George W Walker: a vaudevillian and impresario who toured Australia in the early 20th century, including the Limestone Coast, alongside some of the biggest theatrical stars of the day. It is a story of family, community, love and legacy – and laughter.

The next LTC production in late June/ early July comprises two short plays, both comedic. Lockdown in Little Grimley is a 40-minute play about an amateur theatre group contemplating what to perform after opening up after Covid lockdown. Second, Alan Grimaldi and the 183 is a 25-minute play about a man who finds himself unexpectedly dead and awaiting entry to heaven.

Geoff Helisma. ‘Not out’ septuagenarian Bob Walker came to comedy relatively late. “It saved my life. I was deeply depressed when I took it up – it’s changed how I think about myself and my outlook on life.” ... the Tucabia man is back with a stellar line-up of comedians at the Maclean Bowling Club – and all of the money from ticket sales will be used to potentially save lives.

NORPA has revealed some of the adventurous, world-class performances that will transport audiences to different worlds in 2022. The theatre at NORPA will transform into a tennis court with court-side seating for Sunshine Super Girl, the triumphant story of Australian sporting hero, Evonne Goolagong ...

Lismore Theatre Company is keen to hear proposals from directors interested in staging a play for 2022. The company has some productions scheduled for the new year but is keen to open the 2022 program to new shows including some more traditional theatre options with a comedic flavour.

The Regional Venue Collective is a co-operative approach to venue management between three venues, the Byron Theatre, The Regent in Murwillumbah and Star Court Theatre in Lismore in the adjoining LGAs of Lismore Shire, Tweed Shire and Byron Shire. The venues have come together to host nominated shows and tours and to incubate the creation of original works to tour the region and further afield.

The inaugural Regional Venue Collective tour features Wild Thyme, the love-child of three of Australia’s most talented and captivating female artists, Arlene Fletcher on double bass and vocals, Katie Crane on guitar and vocals, and Laura Targett on fiddle and vocals. 

A popular East Kimberley event held in May this year, and supported by the McGowan Government, injected around $6 million into the local economy and recorded its highest-ever ticket sales.

The show must go on. There are 42 cast members rehearsing for four performances of Bye Bye Birdie in Kyogle this month. Fingers crossed, there won’t be a covid case in Kyogle LGA. Or lockdown. Or anything else to stop the performance.

Lismore Theatre Company is pleased to announce its next show, Running Up a Dress will be on stage September 10-19. Written in 1986, Running up a Dress, is a play about mothers and daughters, a relationship that shapes young women. The play, written by Suzanne Spunner, originally intended to be performed by two actors, will feature an ensemble cast.