Sydney Theatre Company
We all built a fortress in our bedroom and pretended we were under the sea or on Mars. That act of child’s play where your imagination makes something real to you is exactly what happens in the theatre.”
As a teenager, Kip Williams remembers sitting in the audience of the Sydney Theatre Company’s 2006 production of The 7 Stages of Grieving, in awe of the art form. “Seeing that show completely opened my eyes to a perspective on Australian history that had never felt so palpable to me,” says Kip of the moving, one-woman indigenous show starring Deborah Mailman.
Fast-forward a decade and Kip is artistic director of the company. In the face of savage funding cuts, he says, companies big and small have stood united, with STC, for example, set to present Griffin Theatre Company’s acclaimed production of The Bleeding
Tree in March. “We are essentially born of people who have crafted their work and forged their early careers in the small-to-medium sector, so when funding is reduced to a point where that sector’s vitality is threatened, it threatens the vitality of the majors, too.”
As Australia’s de facto national theatre company, STC has a brief to address cultural identity and contemporary politics in its programs; it also tours more than ever before, bringing international attention to Australia’s unique brand of theatre-making – a mix of Anglo, European and indigenous influences.
At its heart, though, all theatre is just an adult version of playing pretend.
“We all built a fortress in our bedroom and pretended we were under the sea or on Mars,” says Kip.
“That act of child’s play where your imagination makes something real to you is exactly what happens in the theatre.
“You are always aware of the artifice – that you are sitting in a room and the people in front of you are actors
– and it’s often a conscious choice for the audience to make that imaginative leap.”