Independent Theatre (Adelaide)

Last updated

Independent Theatre (IT) is an Australian theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia. It has strong links to American theatre and culture, frequently producing plays by American playwrights, but also produces classical and contemporary theatre, as well as adaptations from novels.

Contents

Founded in 1983 by continuing artistic director Rob Croser, the company was the first non-professional company to be invited to perform in the Space Theatre at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Croser is assisted by David Roach, who has acted in several productions as well as designing sets for many. Independent Theatre has had a relationship with American playwright John Logan, who is a benefactor, since the 1990s, and has produced several of his plays. Logan's Peter and Alice was the company's hundredth production, staged in 2014. The company continues to produce three or four plays each year, usually staged at the Goodwood Institute or the Space.

History

Independent Theatre (IT [1] ) was founded in 1983 by Rob Croser OAM (a lawyer in youth court), [2] David Roach, Allen Munn, Pattie Atherton, and others. Croser became inaugural artistic director. The first performances were staged in 1984, [1] and since then until at least 2022 the company has produced three or four plays every year, [3] all but two directed by Croser. [1]

Croser has collaborated with international theatre professionals, including Elaine Steinbeck, when preparing his adaptation of East of Eden [4] for stage in 1998. [3]

On Sunday 24 March 2019, the company threw a party at the Goodwood Institute to celebrate its 35th anniversary. [5]

Description

As of January 2023 the company was still being run by Rob Croser. Its major benefactor is American playwright and filmmaker John Logan. [1]

The company has strong links to American theatre and culture, but also produces a variety of plays of many genres and types, including classical theatre such as Shakespearean drama. [5]

Venues

In the past, many of IT's productions have been staged at the Odeon Theatre in Norwood. Other venues have included Theatre 62, the Little Theatre, and, more recently, the Ukaria Cultural Centre. [6]

As of 2023, most IT plays are performed at the Goodwood Institute, in the suburb of Goodwood, or at Space Theatre at the Adelaide Festival Centre. [7]

Selected productions

The company has staged productions of Hamlet twice - in 1999 and 2016. [3] While the 1999 production featured an actor who was Hamlet's stated age in the play (30 years old), Nick Opolski, the 2016 production featured a much younger cast, with Will Cox playing Prince Hamlet as a teenager. [8] Other Shakespearean plays performed by the company include Macbeth (2021) [2] and Othello (1997, 2011, and 2022). [3]

Jumping for Joy, a dark comedy by American playwright Jon Marans, had its Australian premiere at the Odeon Theatre in Norwood in an Independent Theatre production, directed by Croser, [9] in 2003. [3]

A production of Before the Party , a stage adaptation by Rodney Ackland of Somerset Maugham's short story "Before the Party", was staged in April 2017. [10]

Chekhov's The Seagull was performed at the Little Theatre in early 2022. [11]

Some Australian premiere productions of overseas works include: [5]

Achievements and recognition

Independent Theatre was the first non-professional company to be invited to perform in the Space Theatre, and to use the Festival Centre's theatres regularly afterwards. [5]

It was the first company in Adelaide to cast Indian and African Australians in its productions, and the first company in Australia to cast an African actor as Othello, in the form of Shedrick Yarkpai, who is from Liberia. [5]

It has had stronger links to American theatre and culture than other South Australian theatre companies. [5]

Honours

People

Rob Croser

Rob Croser OAM was born in Maitland, South Australia. He went to school at Scotch College (Adelaide) and studied law at the University of Adelaide, going on to work at the Legal Services Commission of South Australia. In 1981 he started working at the Adelaide Children's (now Youth) Court, representing children in child protection matters. He was responsible for ensuring that every child is represented in such cases, which was later enshrined in law. In 2010, he was awarded the National Children's Law Award for "Outstanding representation of the interests of children". [1]

Before founding IT, Croser directed performances by various amateur companies, including Therry, Adelaide Rep and St Jude's. For four years in the late 1970s, he was resident boarding house English and drama tutor at his old school, Scotch College, and has also directed shows for Pulteney Grammar School and Annesley College. He also taught stagecraft to students of opera at the Elder Conservatorium. [1]

Croser is actively involved with the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide, and, in collaboration with former Archbishop Ian George, presented performances in St Peter's Cathedral. [1]

David Roach

David Roach OAM is a former priest, and also worked as a counsellor at Daw House, a hospice. [5]

His roles include stage design and as an actor in productions, including as King Duncan in Macbeth (2021) [13]

Actors

Actors who have been cast in IT productions more than once include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Branagh</span> British actor and filmmaker

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours and knighted on 9 November 2012. He was made a Freeman of his native city of Belfast in January 2018. In 2020, he was listed at number 20 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Jacobi</span> English actor (born 1938)

Sir Derek George Jacobi is an English actor. Jacobi is known for his work at the Royal National Theatre and for his film and television roles. He's received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Anderson</span> Australian stage and screen actress (1897–1992)

Dame Frances Margaret Anderson,, known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award and was also nominated for a Grammy Award and an Academy Award. She is considered one of the 20th century's greatest classical stage actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Logan (writer)</span> American film producer and screenwriter

John David Logan is an American playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his work as a screenwriter for such films as Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Sam Mendes's James Bond films Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). He has been nominated three times for Academy Awards, and has won a Tony Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral Browne</span> Australian-American actress (1913–1991)

Coral Edith Browne was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of Macbeth (1956), The Rehearsal (1963) and The Right Honourable Gentleman (1965). She won the 1984 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for the BBC TV film An Englishman Abroad (1983). Her film appearances included Auntie Mame (1958), The Killing of Sister George (1968), The Ruling Class (1972) and Dreamchild (1985). She was also actor Vincent Price's third wife.

Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, Cusack has been involved as a performer since a young age. She has served with the UK's two leading theatre companies, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre and has performed in a long line of major stage productions since the mid-1980s. She has made numerous appearances on television including a long-running role as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995) which made her a household name and favourite. She has often worked as a voice actress on radio, and her film credits include a starring role in In Love with Alma Cogan (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unley, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullarton, Hyde Park, Malvern, Parkside and Wayville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Hunter</span> British actress

Aikaterini Hadjipateras, known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is an American-born British actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in the Harry Potter film series, and as Eedy Karn on the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series, Andor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Negga</span> Irish actress (born 1981)

Ruth Negga is an Ethiopian-Irish actress known for the AMC television series Preacher and the film Loving. For her portrayal of Mildred Loving in the latter, Negga received several major nominations from the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, and won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actress. In 2022, Negga made her Broadway debut in a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth as Lady Macbeth, and earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dillane</span> British actor (born 1957)

Stephen John Dillane is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film The Hours, Stannis Baratheon in Game of Thrones, and Thomas Jefferson in the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams, a part which earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination. An experienced stage actor who has been called an "actor's actor", Dillane won a Tony Award for his lead performance in Tom Stoppard's play The Real Thing (2000) and gave critically acclaimed performances in Angels in America (1993), Hamlet (1990), and a one-man Macbeth (2005). His television work has additionally garnered him BAFTA and International Emmy Awards for best actor.

'The Adelaide Repertory Theatre, often called Adelaide Rep or The Rep, is an amateur theatre company in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1908. It usually presents its productions at The Arts Theatre.

Second Age Theatre Company existed to promote an awareness and love of classical theatre for all, but especially young people and new audiences for Shakespeare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Othello (character)</span> Character in "Othello"

Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello. The character's origin is traced to the tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor.

Gregory Doran is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. The Sunday Times called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.

Synetic Theater is a non-profit physical theater company located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It performs at the Crystal City Theatre in Arlington Virginia. Since its formation its productions have received numerous awards.

<i>Red</i> (play) Play about artist Mark Rothko

Red is a two-handed play by American writer John Logan about artist Mark Rothko. It was first produced by the Donmar Warehouse, London, on December 8, 2009, in a production Michael Grandage. It then transferred to Broadway in March 2010 with the same two leads, Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne, where it won many Tony Awards.

Kip Williams is an Australian theatre and opera director. Williams is the current Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company. His appointment at age 30 made him the youngest artistic director in the company's history.

<i>Peter and Alice</i> Play by John Logan

Peter and Alice is a play by American writer John Logan based on the meeting of 80-year-old Alice Liddell and Peter Llewelyn Davies, then in his thirties, in a London bookshop in 1932, at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition. It was first staged in London in March 2013, directed by Michael Grandage.

Kate Mulvany is an Australian actress, playwright and screenwriter. She works in theatre, television and film, with roles in Hunters (2020), The Great Gatsby (2013), Griff the Invisible (2010) and The Final Winter (2007). She has played lead roles with Australian theatre companies as well as appearing on television and in film. In 2004 she won the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award for The Seed. In 2017, she won the Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play for her role in Richard 3.

Fiona Crombie is an Australian costume and production designer. She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Production Design for the period film The Favourite.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "About". Independent Theatre. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Keen, Suzie (28 July 2021). "For the love of Shakespeare". InDaily . Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "History". Independent Theatre. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Rob Croser and David Roach mainstays of Adelaide's Independent Theatre love of classic drama from 1984". AdelaideAZ. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Harris, Samela (March 2019). "Story: 35 Years Young and Independent". The Barefoot Review. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Independent Theatre". AusStage . 22 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Contact". Independent Theatre. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Hamlet returns to Adelaide's Independent Theatre Company". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Marans, Jon (2006). Jumping for Joy. Dramatists Play Service. p. 5. ISBN   978-0-8222-2089-3 . Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Before the Party for Adelaide's Independent Theatre". Stage Whispers. April 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "Seagull". Independent Theatre. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Gaertner, Nikki (16 September 2012). "Adelaide Theatre Guide: South Australia's Comprehensive Internet Guide to Local Arts". Adelaide Theatre Guide. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 Davis, Steve (10 August 2021). "Macbeth". The Adelaide Show Podcast. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Godfrey, Brian (28 March 2016). "A Brilliant New Young Hamlet For Adelaide". Glam Adelaide. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Archondakis, Daniel (19 December 2022). "Bucket list role takes Hyde to hell and back". Independent Theatre. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "About". Speakers Corner. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Nunn, Louise (9 June 2017). "Adelaide actor Shedrick Yarkpai and lawyer Rob Croser are subjects in Charles Smith's new US play". Adelaide Now . Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Shedrick K. Yarkpai at IMDb
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.