Musical Theatre in Australia: where to now?

Harvest Rain an independent theatre company  based in Brisbane recently hosted a forum on The Future of Musical Theatre in Australia.  This formed part of their Summer School activities.

Here’s Part 1 of the forum chaired by performer Queenie van de Zandt.  The introduction of the participants is longish, so you might want to skip forward to around 3’40” to legendary performer Nancye Hayes’ quick summation of how musical theatre in Australia has changed since the early 60s when she began her career with J C Williamsons.  John Kotzas CEO/Artistic Director of QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Trust) chimes in with his take on why musical theatre is so popular in Brisbane.  Worth a look, so thanks Harvest Rain, and keep them coming!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkHlj5mPz3w

And then there’s Oscar Theatre Company, another Brisbane-based independent musical theatre group.  Here they are in a rehearsal for their Cabaret and Season launch on 22 February.  Slick little vid production too. Get ready for a whole lot more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDNAM9Z-zjk

Joymas Creative kicks off their year in April with Megan Shorey’s new work, the all-female Handle With Care, directed by Lewis Jones.  This Brisbane-based group is dedicated primarily to bringing original Musical Theatre productions and contemporary projects to astute Queensland audiences.