Suburban theatres play the most important role of all

I was lucky enough to attend the Sydney Theatre Awards this week. The literal-minded part of me was slightly disappointed when it turned out that no theatres nor stages were nominated for the awards, merely the players in and upon them. As well as the arrangers, choreographers, composers, costume-makers, directors, lighting designers, producers, stage designers, and sound designers.

I’d give the theatre award to the Hayes Theatre in Potts Point. Maintaining my unsurpassed run as being the last to any party, I only discovered this gem in the past year. I am not a professional theatre critic, so I cannot comment on my friend Darren’s maxim that a good theatre must smell of feet, and it is perhaps best I do not go the olfactory route, given they are currently staging Urinetown, which was given 4 stars by Herald critic John Shand.

This wonderful establishment plays a significant role in the career development of the next generation of all of those occupations listed above. In an industry where people really do need a break to break a leg, the Hayes plays a critical role in nurturing talented newcomers alongside accomplished professionals. It is a critical role because as I have discovered, it is not a case of wearing tights, talking while holding a skull and the rest is all profit. You have to be able to sing, wave your arms around, write music, create sounds, light and design a stage to make Potts Point feel like West Side New York without people bumping into the furniture. You have to be able to identify talent who can make us believe a character, then herd all the collected talent to make them cohere, dress them, and solve all the production problems of budgets, people and props. It is a huge undertaking, with the added pressure that it has to look easy to the audience.

Noel Coward is famous for his career advice to Mrs Worthington, to refrain from putting her daughter on the stage. It is a precarious profession. Containing so many artists makes it an exciting workplace, but as Lifetime Achievement award winner and producer John Robertson half-jokingly observed, it has its share of difficult people. Combining artistic sensibilities and a precarious work life will do that to a person.

Luckily, the Hayes Theatre ignores Coward’s advice and positively encourages people into the theatre. They believe that it is nice work if you can get it. Indeed, last year they staged a production of George and Ira’s musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, which won several Sydney Theatre Awards. Deservedly so, as it was such a brilliant production. Talking to a cast member this week, I was disappointed to hear that main stage theatres have yet to commit to taking this to a wider audience the company deserves.

Theatre work is vulnerable work. Careers depend upon not only the public playing their part as audiences, but also whole companies and productions, and hence careers can hang on the whims of both independent and main stage theatres as well as sponsors. This is why the Hayes should win an award not least for career development.

Dr Jim Bright, FAPS owns Bright and Associates, a Career Management Consultancy and is a Director of Ed Tech startup Become Education. Email to [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DrJimBright.

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