THE LEGACY: A CELEBRATION OF THE OLD TOTE THEATRE COMPANY
Image: Photo by Robert Walker, 1963. Source: NIDA archives.
In 1963 The Old Tote Theatre was born. It was radical and risky, a place for some of today’s most established theatre directors and actors to cut their teeth. Now NIDA graduate and theatre director Dominic Mercer is researching and curating its 50-year anniversary.
“It was an exciting time,” he says. “There was less bureaucracy so they hit the ground running.”
The opening event will include panel discussions and stage readings by the who’s who of the theatre world. Punters can expect to hear renowned artistic directors including Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton, Lee Lewis and Tom Wright examining how the company has informed generations of theatre practitioners and audiences.
Excerpts from plays performed at the Old Tote by David Williamson, Bob Ellis, Patrick White and Dorothy Hewett will be read and presented by both Old Tote alumni and NIDA students.
“The idea is to get the past to communicate with the present – having Ron Haddrick sitting next to a third year actor who is about to come out into the industry, fits in with the model of the Old Tote. It became a place where students would get onstage experience alongside the current greats.”
Mar 9-28, NIDA Parade Playhouse, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington, free, 9697 7585, nida.edu.au/whats-on
