 | |
 | |
| Address | 210 Petrie Terrace Brisbane Australia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 27°27′42″S153°00′51″E / 27.4616°S 153.0143°E |
| Capacity | 151 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1961 |
| Reopened | 1965 |
| Rebuilt | 1964 |
| Architect | John Dalton |
| Website | |
| artstheatre.com.au | |
Brisbane Arts Theatre refers to both an independent theatre company in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and the building in which it resides.
Brisbane Arts Theatre was founded in 1936 as Brisbane Amateur Theatres by Jean Trundle and Vic Hardgraves. The company's name was changed in 1947. Its early seasons up until the early 1960s consisted of five productions, each with three-night seasons in venues such as All Saint's Hall, Princess Theatre, Theatre Royal and Albert Hall. It also presented 12 to 14 performances of an annual junior Shakespeare play and three one-act plays throughout its season at various venues, including the Brisbane branch of the Royal Over-Seas League. [1] [2]
Brisbane Arts Theatre's first production in its new venue on Petrie Terrace was The Multi-Coloured Umbrella by Armidale playwright Barbara Mary Vernon, which opened on 16 September 1961. Its first full season in its new home included nine plays of up to 20 performances each.
During the rebuilding of the venue (see below) between 1964 and 1965, the company persisted with its seasons off-site. Following the completion of the rebuilt venue, ten plays per season were performed, each consisting of 19 performances over a five-week duration. In 1965, an annual children's theatre season was added with the first production featuring Carol Burns as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel.
The company was funded only by box office revenue until government funding began in the form of a small annual Queensland state government grant in 1969, which ceased in the 1990s under the Goss Labor government. It has since again operated solely on performance and theatre bar revenue and theatre workshop tuition fees.
In recent years,[ when? ] the theatre's annual seasons have consisted of five to seven productions each from its mainhouse and children's theatre divisions. Its recent high-grossing productions have included the stage debuts of three plays based on novels by John Birmingham, adapted by Simon Bedak (He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco and How to Be a Man), a once-reprised production of We Will Rock You, and productions of Avenue Q in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 (including a regional Queensland tour) and 2018. The company claims to be "Brisbane's home of Avenue Q."
Brisbane Arts Theatre was the first theatre company in Brisbane to operate its own theatre premises. It no longer does due to financial difficulties. The venue is located at 210 Petrie Terrace, in the suburb of Petrie Terrace. With 152 seats, it is sold as 149 in the stalls and gallery combined and features a small courtyard and a bar.
The property, formerly Dan's, a second-hand shop, was purchased in June 1959 for £6,000 and redeveloped as a theatre. Initially reported to seat 220, it opened in September 1961 with a single-level, raked 144-seat auditorium and a 10ft-deep stage. The first floor accommodated the costume department and office. The theatre was officially opened by Premier of Queensland Frank Nicklin on 22 September. [3]
At around 3am on 31 May 1964, the theatre was heavily damaged by fire, caused by an electrical fault in the toilet block. Upon initial assessment of the damage, the theatre director and insurance representatives agreed that the building could be repaired within a matter of weeks; however, smouldering materials ignited a second blaze at 8.30am, which resulted in extensive damage throughout. The Commonwealth Trading Bank loaned £12,000 for the rebuilding of the theatre based on a new design by the initial architect, John Dalton. It included the addition of a dress circle, increased stalls capacity, a 25 ft deep stage and two dressing rooms under the stage. The theatre reopened on 25 June 1965, the reconstruction totalling £20,000. [3] The venue's architectural shape served as the inspiration behind the company's new logo in 2014.
In the late 1960s, the adjoining cottage–a deceased estate–was purchased for £6,000 and later, in August 1971, a two-storey building at 222 Petrie Terrace was added to the complex for $16,000. The cottage, at number 206, was renamed after Cor Boogaart, a workshop manager for the theatre for 27 years. The property at number 222 housed the theatre's wardrobe department and rehearsal space until its sale in 2011. Cor Boogart Cottage, having previously been used as a rehearsal venue, now houses the wardrobe division and construction workshop downstairs. The previous two rehearsal venues were renovated between 1976 and 1978 at the same time as the construction of the theatre's current office and bar. The Cor Boogaart Cottage was again refurbished following the sale of 222 in May 2011. [3]
Brisbane Arts Theatre no longer owns its own theatre. It has operated a registered training organisation, offering accredited certificates in live production and technical services.
In 2022, Brisbane Arts Theatre was put up for sale following poor management creating financial difficulties. [4] [5] [6] It was sold in February 2023 to Dan and Fiona Kennedy at Ad Astra Theatre Company in 2023 for $3,000,000 (AUD). [7] Ad Astra will allow the Brisbane Arts Theatre company to continue to use the space. [8]
In 2024, it was announced that the theatre company would perform its last production in the Petrie Terrace theatre. Its final performance will be 1 June 2024. The theatre company will continue to perform but at other venues. Under the terms of the 2023 sale, the name Brisbane Arts Theatre will continue as the company's names and not the theatre's name. [9]
Performers at the theatre include:
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent at the Arts Centre Melbourne, where it is accompanied by Orchestra Victoria. In 2004, the company gave 226 performances in its subscription seasons in Sydney and Melbourne, Victoria, attended by more than 294,000 people.
The Twelfth Night Theatre is an established Australian entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, in Brisbane, Queensland. Many notable actors, both international and Australian, have performed there.
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Theatre, Concert Hall, Playhouse and Cremorne Theatre.
The Brisbane Powerhouse is a performing arts and cultural centre which is housed in a former power station in the Brisbane suburb of New Farm in Queensland, Australia. The venue offers an array of live performances, visual art displays, exhibitions, festivals, and free community events.
Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Brown Theatre and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Playhouse.
The culture of Brisbane derives from Australian culture and incorporates a strong history in the performing arts, music and sport.
Petrie Terrace is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Petrie Terrace had a population of 1,168 people.
The Playhouse Theatre was a theatre in central Perth, Western Australia. It was purpose-built for live theatre in 1956 and remained one of the city's principal venues for performing arts for over half a century until replaced by the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia in January 2011. It was home to the National Theatre Company from its establishment until 1984, and then to its successor, the Western Australian Theatre Company, until its disbandment in 1990.
Paddington is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Paddington had a population of 9,063 people.
Harvest Rain Theatre Company was a not-for-profit theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. Beginning as an amateur company, it evolved into a professional musical theatre company presenting arena productions around Australia, before closing in 2022.
Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981 under the name Lyric Opera of Queensland after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in December 1980.
Derby Theatre is a theatre situated in Derby, England, located within the Derbion shopping centre. Formerly known as the Derby Playhouse, it was owned and run by Derby Playhouse Ltd from its opening in 1975 until 2008, when the company ceased operating after a period in administration. The theatre was reopened in 2009 as the Derby Theatre under the ownership of the University of Derby, who use it as a professional and learning theatre. In addition to the 531 seat main auditorium, the building contains a 110-seat studio theatre.
Anywhere Festival is an annual Brisbane based festival for performance anywhere but traditional theatre spaces. The first anywhere-but-in-a-traditional-theatre concept was brought to Brisbane in 2011 by creative director Paul Osuch. His theory is that we need to take traditional story-telling out of theatre buildings and back to where life really takes place, in the community.
The Cremorne Theatre was a theatre in South Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia that operated, with interruptions, from 1911 to 1954. Although nothing remains of it today, the general location retains its cultural significance from the first half of the twentieth century as a theatre precinct, thanks to the nearby construction of Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in 1985. Its name lives on in the new Cremorne Theatre, one of the venues within QPAC.
La Boite Theatre, founded as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society, is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company.
Gretel Scarlett Jahnke, known as Gretel Scarlett is an Australian actress and performer. Having appeared in theatre productions including Wicked and Mamma Mia!, she is best known for starring as Sandy in the 2013–2015 Australian production of Grease and Kathy Selden in the 2016/2017 Australian production of Singin' in the Rain which opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne. She most recently appeared in Disney's Frozen as the Elsa understudy.
Princess Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre at 8 Annerley Road, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architect John Beauchamp Nicholson and built in 1888. It is also known as South Brisbane Public Hall and Boggo Road Theatre. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
La Boite Theatre Building is a heritage-listed former theatre at 69 Hale Street, Petrie Terrace, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Blair Wilson and built in 1972. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 January 2004.
Jason Klarwein is an Australian actor, director, producer and artistic director, known for his involvement with Grin & Tonic theatre troupe.
Her Majesty's Theatre was a theatre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, between 1888 and 1983. It opened as Her Imperial Majesty's Opera House on 2 April 1888, and was known as His Majesty's Theatre between 1901 and 1952. The largest theatre in Brisbane, it was located at 193 Queen Street. Its façade was in the Italian Renaissance and Corinthian style.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)