'The Adelaide Repertory Theatre, often called Adelaide Rep or The Rep, is an amateur
theatre company
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, founded in 1908. It usually presents its productions at The Arts Theatre.
History
Adelaide Rep is the longest surviving
amateur theatre
Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as ...
company in the Southern Hemisphere,
having been set up in 1908 by students from the
Elder Conservatorium
The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...
.Geoffrey Milne, (2004), ''Theatre Australia (Un)limited: Australian Theatre Since the 1950s'', Rodopi, p. 75,
Since its inception, the company's venues have included:
*
Unley Town Hall
The City of Unley is a local government area in the Adelaide metropolitan region. It is located directly south of the Adelaide city centre.
The Corporate Town of Unley was created in 1871, when 2,000 signatories to a petition from residents o ...
* Walkerville Hall
*
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...
at 102a
Grenfell Street
Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. On the other side of King William Street, it continues as Currie ...
(later the Embassy Ballroom, Plaza Theatre, and Paris Cinema, before demolition)
*King's Theatre (built 1911, on the corner of
Carrington Street
Carrington Street is a street in the south-eastern sector of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs east–west, from East Terrace to King William Street, blocked at Hutt Street and crossing Pulteney Street at Hurtle Square. It is one ...
and
King William Street, Adelaide
King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it ...
)
* Tivoli Theatre (now Her Majesty's)
*Victoria Hall, in
Gawler Place
Gawler Place is a single-lane road in the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs north to south from North Terrace to Wakefield Street, parallel to and approximately midway between King William and Pulteney Streets.
...
In 1963, the company built The Arts Theatre in
Angas Street
Angas Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map of the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna language, Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaid ...
. The 500-seat theatre was built for £45,000, on land bought 15 years prior by the company. It has since become a major venue for other amateur companies as well as
Adelaide Fringe
The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...
and other performances. The first production there was the
Peter Ustinov
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
The company has performed at many venues around Adelaide, but most are at The Arts Theatre.
The company is run by a board, chaired by Rose Vallen.
Awards
*2001:
Messenger Newspapers
Messenger Newspapers is the publisher of 9 free suburban weekly newspapers together covering the Adelaide metropolitan area. Established by Roger Baynes in Port Adelaide in 1951, ''Messenger'' has since acquired other independent suburban titles ...
Light Year Award, for Glen Christie's performance as Norman in ''The Dresser''
*2001: Messenger Newspapers Theatre Awards, for Barney in ''Kid Stakes'' won Best Amateur Actor
*2006: Adelaide Critics Circle The Coopers Group Award for ''
School for Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777.
Plot
Act I
Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...
''
*2006: Messenger Newspapers Light Year Award for best comedy: ''I Hate Hamlet''
*2008:
Ruby Award
The South Australian Ruby Awards, also known as the Ruby Awards, are annual awards which recognise outstanding achievement in South Australia’s arts and culture sector. They were named in honour of arts champion Dame Ruby Litchfield (1912–200 ...
for Sustained Contribution by an Organisation (
Arts SA
Arts South Australia (previously Arts SA) was responsible for managing the South Australian Government's funding for the arts and cultural heritage from about 1996 until late 2018, when it was progressively dismantled, a process complete by early ...
)
People
Notable associates of the Theatre include:
*Roxy Byrne - actress
* Frank Ford AM - Director
*Alexander Melrose - playwright
*
Keith Michell
Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII. He appeared extensively in Shakespeare ...
Sydney Talbot Smith
Sydney Talbot Smith OBE (21 April 1861 – 3 October 1948) was a lawyer and journalist in the colony and State of South Australia.
History
Smith was born at Dover House, Burnside, South Australia the only son of (later Sir) Edwin Thomas Smith an ...
AusStage
AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up un ...