Curtain Rises on Fresh Chapter for Newcastle Theatre Company
IMAGES SOURCE: NEWCASTLE THEATRE COMPANY
The Newcastle Theatre Company is proud to announce the Laneway Theatre and the launch of Season 2025.
The Lambton-based theatre company is one of Australia’s longest continuously run community theatres with over 200 loyal and dedicated members, all of whom have lots of new and exciting things to look forward to over the next year.
Opened in 1957 as Newcastle Repertory Theatre, it was the dream of Peter and Shirley Bloomfield, who wanted to create
an all-inclusive training ground for theatre practitioners of all skill levels. Their legacy continues today with the annual production of several mainstage productions each year and the broad range of theatre-based activities for members, including not just performances, auditions and rehearsals but play readings, set design and construction, lighting and sound design and tech, art exhibitions, workshops and even ushering.
In 2007, the Newcastle Repertory Theatre changed its name to the Newcastle Theatre Company. Originally housed in what is now the rehearsal space, in 2012, the company moved into a new 147-seat building that had been 25 years in the planning.
Newcastle Theatre Company is a memberbased, incorporated association run by a volunteer Management Committee, with all decisions going through the voting process at the Annual General Meeting. President Zac Smith has been in his role for three years and is passionate about modernising not just the space but also the offerings, as well as finding ways to make what they do more commercially viable.
“There were renovations made to the outside of the building in 2018 and 2019, but since then we’ve done more work inside, for example, raising the proscenium arch by 1.5 metres which has made a big difference in the staging of our works,” said Zac.
“One of our most exciting new changes is the rebranding of our venue as the Laneway Theatre. This will make it easier to hire the space to other theatre companies and performance groups, removing the confusion of who is actually presenting the work.
“One of the reasons we want to do this, aside from the fact that it’s financially savvy, is that by hiring the venue out to other performance groups, especially those that are presenting very different works to those that we present, we are building awareness in audiences that may have never been here before. We want to be a destination venue. When people are wondering what to do, they might wonder what’s on at the Civic Theatre, but they might also wonder what’s on at the Laneway Theatre.
“We’ve been here a long time, but people still don’t know what we do, and we want to change that. It’s vital that we get new people through our doors, and offering different types of shows, such as comedy, magic shows, and burlesque, will help us grow our audience base.
“In 2025 we’ll also be welcoming cinema to the stage with a screen being installed over Christmas. There will be a weekly program featuring things such as National Theatre Live, old horror classics, and international films, and the bar will open.
Season 2025 features six plays and one musical. Directors submit a pitch to the Mainstage Programming Committee with
a play reading and their ideas, and then the recommendations are presented to the Management Committee. In 2025, Newcastle Theatre Company will present Hangmen by Martin McDonagh, a brilliant, funny, and offbeat play that won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Play. It will be directed by Patrick Campbell. Then, in March, Florian Zeller’s The Father (the play that the Oscar-winning film with Anthony Hopkins was based on) will be a poignant and powerful piece on aging and is directed by Aiden Clark. May will see Morning Sacrifice by Dymphna Cusack with an all-female cast directed by Pearl Nunn on the stage. William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, directed by Jo Cooper, will explore the consequences of political power and ambition in June. A black comedy about infertility and infidelity, Every Second, written and directed by local playwright Vanessa Bates, runs from 23 August to 6 September. At the end of October, director Michael King takes on The Birds by Conor McPherson, which is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s short story and also the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film. Finally, towards the end of November, Silvia Martinez and Jason King will direct Lucky Stiff.
“We’re encouraging people to become season ticket holders,” said Zac.
“We’ve developed a new loyalty rewards program that unlocks exclusive benefits that grow with continued support. It’s about becoming a part of a community that values the arts and live theatre.”
For more information and bookings, visit www.newcastletheatrecompany.com.au.
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