Alternate venues for top shows

Local community halls will continue to provide alternate venues for West Gippsland Arts Centre’s “Outside the Walls” season this year.

With the arts centre redevelopment works still underway, a brochure for the first half of 2018 was launched last week.

It details 12 shows to be held in local halls and alternate venues across West Gippsland as well as other Gippsland performing arts venues.

Further shows are set to be announced in April ahead of the mid-year opening of the new-look West Gippsland Arts Centre.

Amongst the companies featuring in the January to July brochure are Bell Shakespeare, Opera Australia and Monkey Baa.

Bell Shakespeare will present Shakespeare’s political thriller “Julius Caesar” at Banjil Place, Narre Warren on Tuesday, July 31 at 8pm.

Opera Australia will utilise St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School, Warragul for its production of love story “Madame Butterfly” on Saturday, July 21 at 7.30pm.

Monkey Baa will tour brand new children’s musical “Josephine Wants to Dance” to Kernot Hall in Morwell on Tuesday, July 10 at 10.30am and 1.30pm. It is based on the popular book by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley.

In the first show of the year, Neerim Junction Hall will host “Pirates of Penzance” on Friday, March 2 at 6pm and Yarragon Public Hall will host “Just a Couple of Song and Dance Men” on Friday, March 16 at 11am.

Both Trafalgar and Jindivick public halls will hold performances of “All My Love”. Trafalgar’s show will be on Wednesday, April 18 at 7.30pm and Jindivick’s on Thursday, April 19 at 7.30pm.

Put Friday, April 20 in the diary with both “The Beggers” at the Willow Grove Community Centre at 11am and Ken Schroder at Wesley of Warragul at 7.45pm.

One-woman show “Hello Beautiful” will be at Latrobe Performing Arts Centre on Saturday, May 12 at 2pm.

Another busy date is Friday, May 25 with Darnum Memorial Hall to host “Petula: Downtown to Broadway” at 11am and Wesley of Warragul hosting “French Arauas” featuring Greta Bradman and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra at 7.30pm.

Character study and thriller “Elegy” will be at the JD Algie Hall in Neerim South on Saturday, May 26 at 7.30pm.

The brochure also contains “Theatre Gippsland highlights”.

For a copy, contact the West Gippsland Arts Centre box-office on 5624 2456 or visit wgac.org.au.