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The Tamarama Rock Surfers was an independent theatre company that operated out of the Old Fitzroy Theatre in Sydney, Australia, and beyond. After 18 years, the group ceased trading in December 2015 due to lack of funding.
The Tamarama Rock Surfers were founded in December 1994 by Jeremy Cumpston, Zena Cumptson and Michael Gwynne. When they produced the James Gaddas play Shadow Boxing in Adelaide at the Kings Theatre, with Jeremy Cumpston in the lead role. The idea for the company came about when Jeremy, Zena and Michael, dreamed of a stand alone independent theatre company making theatre beyond mainstream stages. The story behind the name is open to conjecture yet it is believed to have come from the summers spent jumping off the rocks at Tamarama Beach freestyle without anything except a desire to swim beyond the breakers. Post that many of the subsequent members embraced being a "surfer"...more metaphysical than anything else...yet the name embraced the idea of being free. The Tamarama Rock Surfers also founded the Old Fitzroy Theatre, Woolloomooloo in 1997 after sell-out season in Sydney of the play Road written by Jim Cartwright and performed at the Lansdowne Hotel. Following that success all of the performers donated the profits of the production to establish the Old Fitzroy Theatre. The first production TRS staged at the Old Fitz was Diary of a Madman - produced by Jeremy Cumpston, directed by Simon Lyndon designed by Imogen Ross and featuring actors Alan Morris and Bojana Novakovic.(Edited by journalist and documentary filmmaker Ted McDonnell, who interviewed one of the founders in December 2019 - who stated previous entries were based on myth, not fact)
Since its inception, the Company produced over 200 main stage productions and premiered 130 new Australian plays. [1] The company was led by artists such as Jeremy Cumpston, Ansuya Nathan, Zena Cumpston, Leland Keene, Kar Charmers and Alan Flower. [2]
In 2011, Rock Surfers with the help of Waverley Council, moved to a larger venue at the Bondi Pavilion. Not confined to the space, the Rock Surfers have also performed in the Studio venue of the Sydney Opera House.
The company has also been the start of many other independent Australian theatre companies. It has also started many theatre careers like Tim Minchin, Kate Mulvany, Toby Schmitz,[Sarah Goodes, Ewen Leslie, Suzie Miller, Iain Sinclair, Sarah Giles, Josh Lawson, Brendan Cowell, Blazey Best, Jason Clarke and Sarah Snook. [3]
Many talented Australian actors, both veterans and newcomers, perform in plays at the Old Fitzroy Theatre, such as Bojana Novakovic, Beejan Olfat, Jeremy Cumpston, Simon Burke, Pippa Grandison, Toby Schmitz, Victoria Hill, Damon Herriman, Mouche Phillips, Carole Skinner, Leah Vandenberg and Danny Adcock. In addition, many notable directors have recognised the space as one of Sydney's finest intimate venues, among them David Field, Simon Lyndon, Jason Clarke, Brendan Cowell, Van Badham, Jeremy Sims, Alan Flower, Zena Cumpston, Ansuya Nathan, Jeremy Cumpston, Leland Keane, Joel Edgerton, Leeanna Walsman and Nick Enright.
2002 saw the introduction of the innovative 'late shows'. Running on Sunday nights after the scheduled performance, the space was opened up to a variety of performances such as cabaret, multi-media, music and dance.
2006 - A particular highlight of the season was Sue Smith's Thrall, directed by current CEO Leland Kean, starring Peta Sergeant, John McNeill, Tamara Cook and Bryce Youngman. "Sue Smith's beautiful, evocative and erotic play understands the necessary seduction of narrative set-up but, even better, knows how to develop bigger and universal ideas inside the reductive machinery of plot. It's a grounded work in which the thematic ideas transcend the narrative" [4]
2008 was a mixed year for the Company with the success of Toby Schmitz's Cu*t Pi, and the sudden tragic loss of company member Mark Priestley.
The 2009 season opened with the Philip Ridley play Vincent River, starring Beejan Land and Elaine Hudson to encouraging reviews, "In a period of heatwaves in Sydney (turning the Fitz into an oven) and the distractions of the Sydney Festival, these two have risen above all to grip audiences by the throat and not let go for a minute." [5] TRS continually collaborate with other independent production companies both nationally and internationally.
Lack of funding and some other uncertainties, forced the Rock Surfers Company into voluntary liquidation in December 2015. The company depended on support from foundations, individuals and investment from local and government bodies as ticket sales only covered a fraction of their costs. [3] There are no immediate plans to reopen but there is some optimism within the company for a comeback in the future. [6]
Blackrock is a 1997 Australian teen drama thriller film produced by David Elfick and Catherine Knapman, directed by Steven Vidler with the screenplay by Nick Enright. Marking Vidler's directorial debut, the film was adapted from the play of the same name, also written by Enright, which was inspired by the murder of Leigh Leigh. The film stars Laurence Breuls, Simon Lyndon and Linda Cropper, and also features the first credited film performance of Heath Ledger. The film follows Jared (Breuls), a young surfer who witnesses his friends raping a girl. When she is found murdered the next day, Jared is torn between revealing what he saw and protecting his friends.
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cate Blanchett, Sarah Snook, Mel Gibson, Judy Davis and Baz Luhrmann.
Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. As of February 2020 the artistic director is Declan Greene.
Genevieve Lemon is an Australian actress and singer who has appeared in a number of Australian television series and international film, including a frequent collaboration with Jane Campion for Academy Award-winning The Piano (1993) and The Power of the Dog (2021), which earned her a Satellite Award as cast member and a Critic's Choice Awards nomination.
Simon Lyndon is an Australian actor and director.
Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre comprises two performing spaces: the Upstairs Theatre and the smaller Downstairs Theatre.
Blackrock is a play by Australian playwright Nick Enright that was first performed in 1995. It was adapted from a 1992 play by Enright, A Property of the Clan, which was inspired by the murder of Leigh Leigh in Stockton, Australia in 1989. The plays were both well received critically but attracted criticism from both Leigh's family and the media because of the fictionalisation of an actual murder. Despite repeated statements from Enright that the plays were a work of fiction, they have both often been considered by viewers to be a factual account. A Property of the Clan was shortlisted for a New South Wales Premier's Literary Award in 1993, and Blackrock won the AWGIE Award for Best Play in 1996. Blackrock was developed into a feature film of the same name in 1997.
The Patrick White Playwrights' Award is an annual Australian literary award established jointly by the Sydney Theatre Company and The Sydney Morning Herald in honour of Patrick White's contribution to Australian theatre. The award was launched in 2000 and in 2011, was amended to include the Patrick White Fellowship.
Troy's House is a play about growing up in Canberra by Tommy Murphy. Troy's House was first performed at the Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) in 1999. The production was then presented by the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) and the Tamarama Rock Surfers (TRS) at the Old Fitzroy Theatre in 2000. This production also travelled to the Queanbeyan Bicentennial Centre. The play has more recently been produced by La Mama (Melbourne) in 2005.
Jeremy Cumpston is an Australian doctor, actor and director most known for his work as Connor Costello on All Saints, an Australian hospital drama.
Platonov is the name in English given to an early, untitled play in four acts written by Anton Chekhov in 1878. It was the first large-scale drama by Chekhov, written specifically for Maria Yermolova, rising star of Maly Theatre. Yermolova rejected the play and it was not published until 1923.
Ewen Leslie is an Australian stage, film and television actor.
Aimée Rene Horne is an Australian actress, singer and voice-over artist. She has worked in film, theatre, radio and television and is an established voice-over artist. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
Nicholas Papademetriou is an Australian actor of Greek Cypriot descent with many television, film and theatre credits. He is a graduate of Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He has had an extensive career in film and television since he graduated in 1984, but is best known as a stage actor, having appeared in productions in Australia, London, New York and Edinburgh.
Toby Schmitz is an Australian actor and playwright.
Mouche Phillips is an Australian actress and theatre producer, best known for her television roles as Aviva "Viv" Newton in Home and Away (1989–90) and Eva Sykes in police procedural series Water Rats (2000–01).
Beejan Land is an Australian actor and playwright. He graduated from National Institute of Dramatic Art and Newtown High School of the Performing Arts
MKA: Theatre of New Writing(often shortened to 'MK-Alpha' or 'MKA') is based in Richmond, in the Melbourne City of Yarra. It was established in March, 2010 as 'MKA Richmond', swiftly outgrowing the name to become one of the most celebrated contemporary theatre companies in Australia. A champion for new performance writers, an increasing number of which, in the company's short history, have become established names in the industry. Productions such as The Economist, sex.violence.blood.gore a recurring season of new plays Open Season - and in 2014 the HYPRTXT Festival - and relationships with larger organisations such as Playwriting Australia have confirmed the company's position within the industry. The company's mission includes a focus on international, though in particular Australian and Asian works. From 2014-2016 the company was supported by Creative Victoria through the triennial funding, operational investment scheme.
Lachlan Philpott is an Australian theatre writer, director, and teacher. He graduated from the University of New South Wales, the Victorian College of the Arts, and NIDA Playwrights Studio. He was Artistic Director of Tantrum Theatre in Newcastle, writer-in-residence at Red Stitch in Melbourne, and the Literary Associate at ATYP. His 18 plays have been performed across Australia as well as Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He was Chair of the Australian Writers' Guild Playwrights’ Committee between 2012 and 2016, and was the recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship Inaugural Professional Playwriting Scholarship in 2014.... In 2012 his play Silent Disco won the Stage Award at the 45th annual AWGIE Awards.
The Old Fitzroy Theatre is a pub theatre in Woolloomooloo in central Sydney, Australia.
