Brisbane theatre alive with new opportunities

In Brisbane, the landscape is changing. With the cultural Olympiad on the horizon, arts organisations are doing their best to prepare for a decade of growth. It’s not an easy transition. Queensland actors are still losing out on local roles to interstate counterparts. There’s a significant turnover in leadership in large companies, while a new body targeting Queensland touring and performance, Stage Queensland, has just launched.

For artists on the ground, one of the most concerning changes is the lack of opportunity for independent and emerging artists, particularly in the wake of Metro Arts losing its organisational funding. Despite the volatile marketplace, however, new companies are emerging.

A decade ago, larger Brisbane companies had seasons of work they labelled “indie” as a method of cultivating growth for emerging artists. This included La Boite Indie, Metro Arts Indie, and the brief experiment from Queensland Theatre Company, the Green Room. None of those programs exist any longer, but two theatre companies, PIP and Ad Astra, are positioning themselves as the new hubs of Queensland theatre, especially for emerging artists.

Both have taken up new spaces in Brisbane’s inner suburbs and are committed to providing opportunities for emerging and independent artists through a suite of mainstage shows.

New opportunities for Brisbane theatre with PIP Theatre

Deidre Grace always had a passion for the performing arts, but spent her life pursuing more “sensible” paths, raising two children and running a successful business. In 2018, she returned to acting. In 2022, she co-founded PIP theatre (an acronym for ‘Purpose In Performance’). 

PIP theatre set up shop in a space with 100 seats in Brisbane’s inner Milton area. The female-led company employs a production manager and marketing director. It is subsidised by Grace’s successful previous business, but the company aims to be ‘self-sustaining within 10 years,’ she tells ArtsHub.

‘One of my tutors told me that no one would give me a role,’ she continues. ‘I wanted to do a production, so I rang around the venues in Brisbane, but there was just nothing available. Some were not interested in working with unknown producers, others were already booked out, and some were prohibitively expensive. That’s when I started looking at warehouses.’ 

PIP Theatre has an annual season of one-act shows, including productions in development, plus the live arts and cabaret festival dubbed ‘The Toucan Club’. It is issuing an open callout for entrants into its 2025 season and offering co-production opportunities. While the company doesn’t have an artistic director, its small staff are interested in works that speak to its values.

‘We want to program works that give voice to under-represented people and diverse makers,’ says Production and Venue Manager Amelia Slatter. 

‘We want to combine the love of theatre with giving back to the community,’ Grace tells ArtsHub.

Ad Astra takes over historic Brisbane theatre

Ad Astra began in 2018 in a 1970s office block in Fortitude Valley. ‘It was painstakingly transformed into a black box theatre,’ says Gregory Wilken, current Executive Producer of the company. Wilken came into the role in 2021 and worked with co-founders Fiona and Dan Kennedy. 

Wilken describes Ad Astra’s seasons as professional and diverse. The company stages more than six “mainstage” productions yearly, with no paid employees. The company adopts a co-op model, giving its creatives a share of ticket sales, less expenses.

The company is successful, regularly selling out seasons and adopting a community of regular fans. Recently, it has been invited to Sydney and Los Angeles to showcase its work. In 2024, the company announced it was finally expanding out of the office block into a more appropriate venue, purchased by Fiona Kennedy. Ad Astra will now be the resident at the historic Brisbane Arts Theatre on Brisbane Terrace. Its Fortitude Valley venue, The Satellite Theatre by Ad Astra, will remain. 

Wilken is clear-eyed in his vision for how Ad Astra contributes to the broader Brisbane arts ecology. For the last three years, at least 50% of the creatives working with the company haven’t worked with them before. Every play must be auditioned, and there must be a crew call-out. 

‘I remember how hard it was to break into the scene in Sydney,’ Wilken tells ArtsHub. ‘You just want to be given an opportunity. And now I’ve got opportunities, it’s not fair for me to just keep casting the same people every time. We must give opportunities to emerging and re-emerging artists for professional outcomes to showcase what they can do.’

Wilken emphasises the re-emerging professional, a term he says he’s borrowed from local director Michael Futcher. It refers to artists who have moved interstate and come back or had a family and are now returning to the business. ‘They need a place to do their work,’ he says.

The new venue means Ad Astra will expand its operations. The company plans to be a hub for networking Brisbane creatives, providing mentorships and collaborations.

‘The best thing that can happen is that someone works with us and it allows them to open a door to something bigger,’ Wilken tell ArtsHub.

These small companies are feeding a precious Brisbane theatre ecosystem that will see fruition in the short and long term.