Theatre of Australia

European style theatre of Australia came with the first European settlers in the 1780s. It has had a significant impact on Australian life, with a number of important playwrights, such as David Williamson capturing aspects of the culture of Australia for Australian and global entertainment. There are a number of publishers of Australian playscripts. Publishers include the non-profit Australian Script Centre, the well-known Currency Press, Playlab Press and Full Dress Publishing. The Australian government supports a website (australianplays.org [1]) that aims to combine playwright biographies and script information. Scripts are also available there. There are a theatrical or dramatic aspects to a number of Indigenous Australian ceremonies such as the corroboree.

The oldest purpose built theatre on mainland Australia is the Queen's Theatre in Playhouse Lane, Adelaide. This theatre was built in late 1840 and it was built by the Solomon Brothers and the first production was "Othello" in January 1841.

There are a range of amateur and professional theatre groups throughout the country, as well as a vibrant independent and fringe theatre community, largely concentrated in Melbourne, home of La Mama.

Theatre companies

Professional

• Bell Shakespeare Company
• Black Swan Theatre Company
• Brink Productions
• Company B - based at the iconic Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney.
• Griffin Theatre Company
• Kookaburra Musical Theatre
• La Boite Theatre
• La Mama Theatre (Melbourne)
• Malthouse Theatre
• Melbourne Theatre Company
• Playbox Theatre Company
• Queensland Theatre Company - the oldest continuous professional theatre company in Queensland.
• State Theatre Company of South Australia
• Sydney Theatre Company
• Twelfth Night Theatre
• Tropic Sun Theatre Company
• Windmill Performing Arts

Independent

• Black Lung
• Stuck Pigs Squealing
• theatre in decay
• Sample Theatre
• yellow glass theatre inc.

Amateur

• Adelaide Repertory Theatre
• Windmill Theatre Company
• Wollongong Workshop Theatre
• GSODA Junior Players

Musical theatre

• Chamber Made

Physical theatre

• Circus Oz

Opera companies

• Opera Australia
• Opera Queensland
• State Opera Company of South Australia
• Victorian Opera
• West Australian Opera
• J. C. Williamson Ltd.

Theatre education

• National Institute of Dramatic Art
• Ballarat Academy of Performing Arts
• WAAPA
• Victorian College of the Arts
• National Institute of Circus Arts
• Adelaide Centre for the Arts
• Flinders University Drama Centre[2]

Awards and competitions

• Green Room Awards
• Helpmann Award
• Mo Awards
• Short and Sweet

Performing Arts Publishers

• Australian Script Centre
• Currency Press
• Playlab Press
• Full Dress Publishing

See also

• Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
• Australian Plays
• Ausstage - Gateway to Performing Arts

External links

• AustralianPlays.org - The largest source of Australian playscripts
• The History of Theatre in Australia
• AussieTheatre.com - Australia's number one theatre news site
• Highlights in Australian theatre history at the Australian Culture and Recreation Portal
• RealTime - Australian contemporary arts magazine covering dance, performance, sound/music, visual arts, film and media art
• [3] - Ausstage, Australian Performing Arts Database