Bali Padda challenges himself with ‘Champions’ at the Old Fitz

Theatre producer Bali Padda is taking a huge gamble on himself as he embarks on producing and directing the play Champions at the Old Fitz while launching a new production company, Little Goats.

“This my first time at the Old Fitz as a producer and director, and the second time I have directed a show there, which was King James by Rajiv Joseph earlier this year,” Bali Padda said.

“Champions had an initial run in New Zealand and I discovered the play through an interview with the director of that play,” Padda said.

“I tracked down the writer, Isabella McDermott, who lives in Auckland.  It was a form of theatre that I’m not quite used to, and I was excited to do something different.”

The premise of Champions is something we all know about, but very few people have experienced. The play concerns four upcoming artists who are competing for a $50,000 art prize, and they have six months to complete their works.

Do they agree to split the prize or will they have to navigate the world of ambition and greed are just some of the questions the play deals with?

“How do you pick the best artist amongst a team of different artists and different art forms and media?” Padda said. “It takes an interesting psychological turn where we go into the head spaces of these artists and how they must overcome theory anxieties or discover their anxieties and their journey into creating art.”

Champions is a four-hander featuring Cat Dominguez (Cafe at the Gates of Salvation), Talitha Parker, Lincoln Vickery (Top of the Lake, Rainbow’s End) and Bayley Prendergast (Beautiful Things).

“They are four young actors and I feel like we have nailed it when casting this one,” Padda said. “They really lean into their characters.”

Champions at the Old Fitz will be Padda’s first production for the new entity Little Goats.

“This is the inaugural production and we are trying something different from the many shows that I have done before,” Padda said.

“I have a very cultural focus towards South East Asia culture, and I wanted to break that mould and demonstrate that my focus is on story telling.”

Padda’s parents came from the Punjab in North India, while he was born and raised in Western Sydney.

His previous productions as director include Sunderella, Guards at the Taj and Sex Magick for Sydney WorldPride.

“There is a lot of difficulty around financing and making work happen, and I wanted to find a way to make it a sustainable approach to the industry, and also make it a space for other creatives to come and feel like they have the safety to be brave,” Padda said.

“This is (also) an opportunity for me to see what I can create for myself.”

Champions
Old Fitz Theatre
Oct 11-26, please check times
https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/champions