Theatre Company History
The Brisbane Arts Theatre was founded in 1936 as Brisbane Amateur Theatre 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.
The 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, including its recently introduced children's theatre division, which began in the early 1960s. 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 state government grant in 1969, which ceased in the 1990s under the Goss Labor government. It has since again operated solely on performance revenue.
In recent years the theatre's annual seasons have consisted of five to seven productions from both 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; and its production of Avenue Q in 2012.
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