Tropic Sun Theatre Company
Tropic Sun Theatre Co is a professional theatre company based in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. Tropic Sun showcases the talents of local actors, designers and directors as well as playwrights.
Tropic Sun produces an annual season of main house productions and, with its developmental arm 'Terrifically Low Cost Theatre', provides other theatre services such as frequent small avant-garde or local plays, tours, workshops and theatrical entertainment for business and institutional events. Tropic Sun focuses on local talent, particularly graduates from James Cook University. The Ensemble of actors presents four major shows a year (including a play by Shakespeare) and several short plays mostly at the Old Magistrate's Court building in the city centre but also in other venues.
Performances are often preluded by a pre-show dinner (or interval dinners for Shakespeare-in-the-Park). Tropic Sun has a 'Dress Circle' members club which includes discounted tickets and invitations to Dress Circle events before and after performances and through the year.
Since October 2006 the theatre company has been operating from the Old Magistrate's Court building. Along with funding from State and Federal Grants, the theatre company was in 2006 given a funding boost of $40 000 by the Townsville City Council which was an increase on the $15,000 the company receives annually from the Council. This money is said to tide the company over until it moves to The New 'Arts Hub'.
The new Townsville Arts Hub will be situated at the old railway station site on Flinders Street West. Tropic Sun will share the new performing arts space with a capacity of 250-300, rehearsal and administration areas with dancenorth australia. Additionally there will be administration offices for the North Queensland Concerto and Vocal Competition, Music Centre North Queensland, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Extensions Youth Dance Company, Townsville Little Theatre and North Queensland Ensembles. The Arts Hub is predicted to be completed by mid-2008 and will cost Townsville City Council and the State Government AbOUT $10 million.
History
The production company was established in 1986. In 1988 Tropic Sun represented Australia at the Toga Mura Festival in Japan and in 2002 they represented Townsville at the Fortress Festival in Suwon, South Korea.
Central to the development of Tropic Sun has been Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Voos. Current general manager Lorna Hempstead was also its first general manager, within the intermediate period Ms. Hempstead has held positions with the Museum of Tropical Queensland, the Townsville Chamber of Commerce, Townsville Enterprise and the board of Tourism Queensland.
Recent and upcoming productions
2007 Season
In 2007 12 plays will be staged including; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Zim-Zoom Cabaret, Othello, The Dresser, His and Hers, A Stretch of the Imagination and Bombshells, additionally Tropic Sun will present a Shakespeare Festival together with an Olde English Fair.
In March Tropic North will bring to the Civic Theatre Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf a dryly humorous and emotionally gripping study of a relationship that reaches its climax over a night of post-party drinking.
2006 Season
During the May 2006 Townsville Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare in the park was brought to Queens Garden with the performance of Romeo and Juliet which consequently toured to Cairns. Starring Kate Hooper and Matthew Ryan in The Title roles and a supporting cast of seven actors playing a total of 18 characters. A traditional and practical set was built specifically for Romeo and Juliet under the huge native trees.
Set in the early 20th century Boston Marriage was a "darkly [...] comedy-of-manners" about two society ladies in a Boston marriage. Claire wishes to end the relationship with Anna after finding a younger potential lover. The production starred Karen Gibb, Lynda Mullamphy and Katheryn Hooper and was directed by Tropic Sun's Artistic Director Jean-Pierre Voos, it was performed in March at the Old Magistrates Court
"Ignoring the maid's hilarious repeated declarations of her correct name and birthright, Anna continues to blame the Scottish maid for the Irish potato famine, saying they should have rotated the crops. Much of the humour of the piece is during exchanges between the uncaring mistress and homesick servant." Townsville Bulletin