Childhood haunt now fresh, fun new theatre
DESPITE his plays becoming sell out successes at the Empire Theatre and stage hits in New York City, Toowoomba born and bred playwright and thespian David Searston still calls the Garden City home.
Now the 32-year-old is excited to launch his biggest project to date right here inside one of his favourite childhood haunts, the old Railway Hall on Bellevue Street.
“My dad is a coal train driver, so I spent a lot of time growing up and playing here as a kid,” he said.
“I even had my 30th birthday here with a 70s theme which suits the era the hall was built in.”
Now the old hall is having a new life brought to it as it becomes the headquarters for Searston’s Calypso Theatre Company.
“It’s been a personal project I’ve kept close to my chest for more than six months now, but I feel like I’m ready to share it with the wider Toowoomba community and start getting the word out there,” he said.
“The name came to me as I was thinking about what I wanted the theatre company to be, sexy, fun, fresh, exciting and modern, and I felt like Calypso Theatre sums all of that up pretty well.”
The University of Southern Queensland theatre graduate soared to international recognition in 2017 when his comedy The Friendzone premiered in Toowoomba and in New York and again when his play Bananas was published and performed to sellout crowds at the Empire Theatre.
“I think Toowoomba needs more live theatre and stage productions, and my ultimate dream is to have my very own theatre right here in Toowoomba, but for now the Railway Hall is home, and Calypso Theatre Co already has big things in the works,” he said.
“We will start auditions and rehearsals in March next year for the rejuvenated Shakespeare in the Park theatre festival during the 2022 Carnival of Flowers, and in the meantime my first film script, The Outback Hipsters, is being filmed by local director Andrew Foley.”
To get in touch with Searston and stay up to date with all things Calypso Theatre Company, head to his Instagram page @searstonds.