A dramatic hidden treasure

Think of the city’s treasures and a few iconic landmarks will probably come to mind – the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, and perhaps even the NSW Art Gallery. Indeed such attractions abound in our colourful metropolis.

But another treasure, with a tradition that predates many of the city’s most celebrated attractions, flourishes beneath the towering high rises, largely unobserved by Sydney’s distracted workers and residents.

Take a walk down one of the city’s oldest avenues, Kent Street, and you might still miss it – a modest colonial church wedged unassumingly between a wholesale bottle shop and a youth hostel.

This historic building, dating back to 1868, is a landmark in its own right, a beautiful remnant of our colonial beginnings and well worthy of our collective regard. But it is what you will find inside if you happen past on a Friday or Saturday night that is one of this city’s truly great treasures – one of Sydney’s oldest and longest-running theatre groups, the Genesian Theatre.

Conceived in the 1940s as the dramatic arm of Sydney’s Catholic Youth Organisation, this thriving company of dedicated amateur thespians has run productions faithfully every year since its inception. Last year it celebrated its 65th anniversary, and its 55th anniversary of performing from historic St John the Evangelist church.

The only theatre of its kind in the city centre, the Genesian boasts an illustrious alumni that has included such esteemed Australian talent as film director Baz Luhrmann, playwright Nick Enright, and actor Bryan Brown.

But it is the core group of unpaid, unsung performing artists who busy themselves year in and year out with the creative and administrative demands of the Genesian’s manifold productions that gives this company its true charm.

This year’s season will feature a prolific eight productions, offering theatre-goers an innovative fusion of the old and new, the dramatic and the delirious.

Opening in May with George Bernard Shaw’s joyous Pygmalion, followed by offerings from such theatre giants Tennessee Williams with The Glass Menagerie, Agatha Christie with And Then There Were None, and Noel Coward with Private Lives, the season is awash with classics for all tastes.

And with their long classical tradition and considerable repertoire of witty stage productions and imaginative sets, the troupe at the Genesian Theatre is sure to do justice to its 66th season selection.

For full program details or to purchase tickets or a subscription, visit www.genesiantheatre.com.au

By Tamara Smallhorn