Patch Theatre Company - History

History

Patch Theatre Company was founded in 1972 by Morna Jones, a performer and television producer who had worked extensively with children during her career. Morna established Little Patch Theatre in an old farmhouse in High Street, Brighton and its theatrical mainstay was puppetry. Over the years, the company's name changed from New Patch Theatre to Patch Theatre Company.

In 1977 Patch became a general grant company of the Australia Council. Later, the company received regular assistance from the State Government through the Youth Performing Arts Council.

Following the appointment of Christine Anketell in 1986, Patch's repertoire diversified and its audience base was extended. For the first time the company toured extensively throughout South Australia and Victoria. The company also undertook its first International Tour performing in Japan as part of the Okinawa Festival. During her seven years as Artistic Director, Christine developed a relationship with the Adelaide Festival Trust, which saw the realisation of large-scale adaptations of children's literature as well as developing its extensive non-metropolitan tours to schools and community centres. Highlights included Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge which had seasons at Expo'88 in Brisbane and the Malthouse, then Playbox Theatre in Melbourne, The Secret Garden which headlined the Canberra Festival and Gillian Rubinstein's Space Demons.

Dave Brown joined the company in 1992 and he continued to foster the Adelaide Festival Centre relationship with a co-production of Victor Kelleher's The Red King in 1993.

In 1994, Patch moved from its base in the Community Centre in Tarlton Street, Somerton Park, to become a part of the Pasadena High School campus. Further co-productions with the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust continued with Gillian Rubinstien's Galax Arena and Each Beach in 1995 and 1997 respectively and the innovative Tripple J collaboration, Respectable Shoes in 1996.

Dave's work reflected his strong interest in exploring new conventions for the use of music in theatre with Respectable Shoes and the Beatlesque pop-opera Kookookachoo. He also explored the sharing of culture through theatre with the Indigenous Australian works Rak Awin and Tjijiku Inma followed by the Vietnamese Australian work - The Boy and the Bamboo Flute - which was performed by the company until 2006.

From 1998 to 200, Patch returned to the puppetry roots of its early years led by Artistic Director, Ken Evans. The Adelaide Festival Centre Trust and Come Out '99 presented Ken Evans' and Jonathan Taylor's Visible Darkness, a collision of Film Noir, contemporary dance, puppetry and illusion.

In 2000, Patch underwent a reinvention when Dave Brown returned to the Company and set about developing a repertoire of in-theatre productions exclusively for 4-8 year olds and their families.

Dave adapted eight stories by celebrated children's author, Pamela Allen, producing Who Sank the Boat? a magical work that set the scene for the emergence of Patch Theatre as one of Australia's most respected children's theatre companies.

Patch Theatre Company is funded by the Government of South Australia through Arts SA and the South Australian Youth Arts Board and by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, Its arts funding and advisory body.