History
Theatre
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| Location | Belvoir Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°53′20″S151°12′33″E / 33.88889°S 151.20917°E |
| Type | Indoor theatre |
| Seating type | Reserved |
| Opened | 1984 |
| Website | |
| belvoir | |
The theatre, converted from a former tomato sauce factory, opened in 1974 as the Nimrod Theatre for the Nimrod Theatre Company. The first production at the theatre was rock musical The Bacchoi . [1] It was renamed as "'Belvoir St" in 1984 by Sue Hill and Chris Westwood when the building was purchased by a syndicate of people (Belvoir Street Theatre Pty Ltd). [2]
Renovations costing around A$11.6 million commenced in 2005 and were delayed in 2006 with the discovery of asbestos in the building's roof. The theatre reopened in October 2006 with the Sydney season of It Just Stopped by Stephen Sewell. [3]
The theatre contains a 330-seat auditorium called the Upstairs Theatre, and an 80-seat performing space called the Downstairs Theatre. [4]
Formation of the company
Belvoir began, in 1984, when two syndicates were established: "Company A" with shares at $1000 each, which would own the building, and "Company B", with shares at $10 each. [5] [6] Company B aimed to stage theatre productions which were "contemporary, politically sharp, hard-edged Australian theatre; to develop new forms of theatrical expression; work by and about "Aboriginal Australians; work created by women; radical interpretations of the classics and work that is surprising, diverse and passionate. [7]
Company
Belvoir was officially launched in February 1985. [5] Later that year, Signal Driver, written by Patrick White and directed by Neil Armfield, was 'the first play produced from the ground up by Belvoir'. [8] In the lead roles were Kerry Walker and John Gaden. [8] [9] The theatre poster was designed by Martin Sharp. [5] Armfield later recalled that White, who had purchased ten shares in the theatre, was its 'greatest shareholder'. [8]
From its foundation, Belvoir also instituted a "parity pay policy" where all employees, from actors to stage hands, received the same hourly rate of pay. [10] This policy, which continued from 1985 to the end of the 2011 season, [11] prompted former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating to describe the Belvoir as "Australia's last commune". [12]
In 2005, Belvoir temporarily moved to the Seymour Centre, Chippendale, while the theatre building underwent an $11.6 million renovation, and returned the following year. [13]
In January 2011, Ralph Myers took over from Neil Armfield as artistic director, stating 'There's a wealth of Australian playwriting and 2500 years of great plays to draw on, I don't see a need to import new plays from overseas.' [11] In July 2014, Myers announced that he would be stepping down from his role at the end of the 2015 season. [14] Myers said he had 'an "ideological" commitment to the regular turnover of artistic directorships'. [14]
Also in 2011, Belvoir appointed Simon Stone as the first director-in-residence. [15] Stone's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck , with the Belvoir, went on to win both Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Awards, in 2011, before being taken to Oslo for a three night performance as part of the 2012 International Ibsen Festival. [16] Stone resigned from his position in 2013, [15] and was replaced by dual directors-in-residence Adena Jacobs and Anne-Louise Sarks. [17]
In 2016 Myers was succeeded as artistic director by Eamon Flack. [18] In February 2022 Carissa Licciardello and Hannah Goodwin were appointed directors-in-residence. [19]
In 2019 Belvoir collected an unprecedented thirteen Helpmann Awards, including Best Play, Best New Australian Work and Best Direction of a Play. In the same year actors in Belvoir productions collected Best Female Actor in a Play, Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play, Best Male Actor in a Play and Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play. [20]
Past talent
Belvoir has featured many actors, writers and directors who went on to have illustrious careers, such as Cate Blanchett, Simon Stone, Leah Purcell, Benedict Andrews, Mitchell Butel, Tommy Murphy, Kate Mulvany, Anne-Louise Sarks, Wesley Enoch, S. Shakthidharan, and former artistic director Neil Armfield. [21]
