The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
suburb of
Kirribilli, New South Wales
Kirribilli is a Suburb (Australia), suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. One of the city's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, it is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the Local governm ...
.
History
It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performance in Cammeray Children's Library on 11 May 1958. It relocated to the current premises in the old boatshed on the shore of Careening Cove in 1960.
The theatre was founded by
Hayes Gordon
Hayes Gordon AO, (25 February 192019 October 1999) was an American-born actor, theatre entrepreneur, theatre producer and director and acting teacher with a considerable career in Australia.
Early life
Gordon was born on 25 February 1920 in ...
AO OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
along with the Ensemble Studios acting school, which introduced
Stanislavsky
Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( rus, Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj, links=yes; ; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian and Sovie ...
-influenced
method acting
Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...
to Australia. Ensemble Studios was Australia's longest surviving acting school when it closed in 2009. Gordon passed on the position of Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre to Sandra Bates in 1986, but remained Principal of the acting school until his death in 1999. Bates was joined by Mark Kilmurry first as her deputy and then as co-director, with Kilmurry replacing Bates upon her retirement in 2015.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...
, the Ensemble had to postpone their 2020 Season - the company allowed ticket holders to convert their ticket to a credit voucher.
Tributes
The Ensemble complex honours veteran stars
Lorraine Bayly
Lorraine Daphne Bayly AM (born 16 January 1937) is an Australian retired actress of film, television and theatre, narrator, presenter, singer, dancer, pianist and theatre director, stage manager and writer.
Bayly has been a performer since s ...
, incorporating Bayly's Restaurant, in recognition of her long-running commitment to the theatre (she was a founding member), to mark her retirement from the stage in June 2003; and
Henri Szeps
Henri Szeps () (born October 2, 1943), also spelled Henry Szeps, is a Swiss-born Australian character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom. ...
, with the Henri Szeps Room.
The Sandra Bates Director's Award
Incoming artistic director Mark Kilmurry initiated the Sandra Bates Director's Award (SBDA) in honour of Sandra Bates, who held the position for 30 years before her retirement
in 2015.
[ The award is sponsored by the ]Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
.[
Winners of the award include:
*2016: Priscilla Jackman and Janine Watson][
*2018: Liz Arday and Felicity Nicol
*2021: ]Ursula Yovich
Ursula Yovich is an Aboriginal Australian actress and singer. She is known for numerous stage appearances, for co-writing and appearing in the rock musical '' Barbara and the Camp Dogs'' (2017), and several film and TV appearances.
Early life ...
*2022: Danielle Maas and Sophie Kelly[
*2023: Margaret Thanos and Emma Canalese
*2024: Julia Robertson and Miranda Middleton
]
Notable productions
As of 2016 the most successful play in the theatre's history was ''Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks
''Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks'' is a 2001 play by American playwright Richard Alfieri. It is a play with only two characters: Lily Harrison, the formidable widow of a Baptist minister, and Michael Minetti, a gay and acerbic dance instructor ...
'', a two-hander
A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as t ...
which in 2006 paired Todd McKenney
Todd McKenney (born 31 May 1965) is an Australian dancer, theatre performer and TV personality. He got his big break on the Chanel 7 Series, Simon’s Battered Sav. He is best known as a judge on the Australian television talent show ''Dancing ...
, in his first non-musical play, with Nancye Hayes
Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre sin ...
. The pair reprised these roles ten years later, reuniting with Sandra Bates in her final directorial role. The play was taken on tour, in collaboration with Christine Dunstan Productions, and won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production
__NOTOC__
The Helpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production is an award presented by Live Performance Australia at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2007.
The award recognizes excellence in one production that has toured in the previous t ...
.
In 2016, the company produced the Sydney premiere of Jane Cafarella's ''e-baby
''e-baby'' is a two-hander play written by Jane Cafarella that was premiered at Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015. It is set over a 16-month period in 2015–16 and deals with two women going through gestational surrogacy, th ...
'', a two-hander
A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as t ...
"quietly feminist play that asserts a heartfelt approach towards matters of infertility, adoption and motherhood."Chapel Off Chapel
Chapel Off Chapel is a theatre venue in Prahran, Melbourne. Located near Chapel Street and opened in 1995, the venue consists of the 255-seat Chapel Theatre, the 150-seat Chapel Loft and a visual arts gallery.
Chapel Off Chapel is particularl ...
theatre in Melbourne.Nadia Tass
Nadia Tass (born Tassopoulou or Tassopoulos; ), is an Australian theatre and film director and film producer. She mostly makes films with her writer-producer husband David Parker, through their production company Cascade Films. Tass is known ...
, and starred Danielle Carter and Gabrielle Scawthorn
Gabrielle Scawthorn is an Australian actress. She has appeared in numerous stage productions as well as TV and film. Gabrielle grew up in Ipswich, Queensland. She trained at NIDA.
Career
In 2015, Scawthorn created the role of Abbey in Christo ...
; Carter and Scawthorn were described as bringing "such life to their roles" and being "utterly believable – in equal parts loveable and frustrating – o that
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
the heartbreak, when it comes, is visceral".
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1958 establishments in Australia
Performing groups established in 1958
Theatres in Sydney
Theatre companies in Australia
Theatre in Sydney