20 18 SEASON
WELCOME
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2018 marks our 25th year and it has been quite a journey. When I started Darlinghurst Theatre Company, the idea was simple. It began with a question; how do you create a sustainable professional theatre company where artists can stage the stories they want to tell? For me there is nothing like a passion project, where an artist feels compelled and driven to explore a particular concept and tell a unique story.
However, the theatre relied largely on artists self-subsidising their work and I was always looking for better ways to resource the productions. In 2008, the City of Sydney, City Projects invited me to inspect what was essentially a derelict church, The Burton Street Tabernacle in Darlinghurst. For many years I had asked City of Sydney if they might have a larger premise for us. I never really expected them to say that they did.
In 1993, with the help of some artist friends, Darlinghurst Theatre Company was born at the Wayside Chapel. We revived the disused Wayside Theatre and staged productions there until 1999, when the theatre roof was destroyed by a hail storm and the venue was closed. South Sydney Council came to the rescue and we were offered a lease on a community hall in Potts Point. So my brothers and I, with the help of many wonderful supporters, built Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s first venue in 2001; a 111 seat black box theatre, now the Hayes Theatre. For the next 11 years we staged many artist driven productions.
The iconic church was truly in a state of disrepair, but it was a bigger space with magnificent potential. The City of Sydney did an extraordinary job with what is now the Eternity Playhouse. Our company played an instrumental role in its development, collaborating with the City of Sydney on the design of the venue. The renovation took five years, and our company had to raise some serious money for the technical equipment, with the generous support of our community, we got there in the end!
It was at the Eternity Playhouse that Darlinghurst Theatre Company finally arrived. In 2015 we bit the bullet and became a fully-fledged professional theatre company. We developed a unique model for supporting independent artists’ work whereby Darlinghurst Theatre Company fully funds and produces artists’ production concepts, including performers paid at award wages. It was then, with artists free of the burden of self-funding their work, that we could really start to explore the possibilities of what such a theatre company could achieve. Our 2018 season marks a coming of age for Darlinghurst Theatre Company. It is powerful, passionate and vital artist-driven theatre. An Act Of God by David Javerbaum will launch our 2018 season and it’s about time the 10 commandments got a re-write. Darwin based writer Mary Anne Butler has entrusted us with her wonderful new work The Sound of Waiting, which is the most heart breaking play I have ever read. Writer Hilary Bell and Director Jo Turner combine forces to deliver a new Australian version of Molière’s comedy The Hypochondriac. To help celebrate our 25th year, we will reprise director Stephen Colyer’s wonderful version of Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein, one of our all-time hit shows. Director Sandra Eldridge will direct Caleb Lewis’ Maggie Stone, a play that is very Australia now. We finish 2018 with Love by powerhouse Australian writer Patricia Cornelius, directed by Rachel Chant.
In 2018 we are proudly partnering with Playwriting Australia to present the 2018 National Playwrights Festival and with Women in Theatre and Screen (WITS) to present the 2018 Festival Fatale. The Shalom Institute returns for the third consecutive year with the Australian premiere of a Timothy Daly play, and we partner with our friends at Milk Crate Theatre on their production Feast, a site-specific work in Redfern. A heartfelt thankyou to supporters and artists who have contributed towards our company’s success over the years. We will continue to honour that support and promote and grow opportunities for artists and audiences. GLENN TERRY Executive Producer Founder of Darlinghurst Theatre Company
DARLINGHURST THEATRE COMPANY’S 25 YEAR LEGACY 3,700
Artists engaged
260
Productions staged
110
New Australian plays
470,000
Audience members
3
Sydney theatre venues established
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New theatre companies founded: Milk Crate Theatre, Critical Stages and Darlo Drama
1st
Australian theatre company with a gender parity policy for all artists
1st
Theatre company in Australia, working under an independent theatre model, to pay award wages and industry rates to all artists.
25
Years of telling LGBTQI stories in association with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
9,125
Days in operation
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AN ACT OF GOD by David Javerbaum
A wickedly clever comedy from the creator of, well, everything. An Act of God is an hilariously satiric conversation with God, who has chosen to inhabit the body of much loved Sydney theatre performer Mitchell Butel. Having grown weary of the Ten Commandments, God has come to correct mankind’s dire misconceptions about His teachings and deliver a radical re-write.
Directors Richard Carroll & Mitchell Butel
Accompanied by a couple of A-List Angels, God arrives like a celestial talk show host to set the record straight and encourage us to do unto others as we would like to be done unto.
Produced by Darlinghurst Theatre Company
Described as “sinfully funny” by Vanity Fair, what began as a series of tweets, evolved into An Act of God, a hit Broadway show now making its Australian debut. David Javerbaum is a 13 time Emmy Award winning comedy writer for The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Featuring Mitchell Butel as God
DATES & TIMES Playing from 2 – 25 February, 2018 Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30pm Sunday at 5:00pm Saturday 17 & 24 February at 3:00pm
An Australian Premiere In Association with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Supported by Ian Barnett.
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THE SOUND OF WAITING
by Mary Anne Butler
A story about hope and survival that cuts straight to the heart. A tiny wooden boat is battered by roaring seas, on board Hamed Mokri cradles his small daughter. His former homeland now more perilous than the seas he’s fighting, his daughter the very last soul he can protect other than his own. He clings to a fading silver lining, to find land girt by sea. Meanwhile, an Angel of Death hangs over them with reckoning, conjuring up all its power to send them both to the bottom of the unknown sea – silent, and black, and endless. Written in response to Tony Abbott’s infamous comment, “Jesus knew there was a place for everything, and it’s not everyone’s place to come to Australia.” The Sound of Waiting is a powerfully poetic allegory for our times, exploring displacement, resilience and hope in a world that has closed its doors on humanity.
Director Suzanne Pereira Produced by Darlinghurst Theatre Company DATES & TIMES Playing from 31 March – 22 April, 2018 Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30pm Sunday at 5:00pm Saturday 14 & 21 April at 3:00pm
Mary Anne Butler is a multi-award winning writer from the Northern Territory. Her play Broken won the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Literature and Drama. “The Sound of Waiting should be on every stage in every city and town of Australia.” – Real Time A Sydney Premiere
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MOLIÈRE’S THE HYPOCHONDRIAC
A new version by Hilary Bell
An irreverent and delicious farce where the old world meets the new. Argan is a needy and controlling patriarch of a household of women, and his hypochondria is the perfect means to keep them at his beck and call. But when his self-obsession extends to selling off his daughter in return for on-tap medical attention, his housekeeper Toinette decides it’s time to fight back. In this world premiere, Hilary Bell adapts Molière’s classic satire for contemporary Australian audiences. The Hypochondriac critiques a society of overdiagnosis and over-prescription that has us clamouring for short-cut fixes and pharmaceuticals. The Hypochondriac is a hilarious farce for our times where all’s well that ends well and a little bit of sense triumphs over the unreasonable.
Director Jo Turner Produced by Darlinghurst Theatre Company DATES & TIMES Playing from 9 June – 1 July, 2018 Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30pm Sunday at 5:00pm Saturday 16, 23 and 30 June at 3:00pm
A World Premiere
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TORCH SONG TRILOGY by Harvey Fierstein
All good things come in threes. A heart felt revival of Harvey Fierstein’s classic play with music. Funny and poignant, Harvey Fierstein’s intensely personal collection of three plays chronicles a Jewish New York drag-queen’s quest for love, respect and a life of which he can be proud.
Director Stephen Colyer
From a failed affair with a reluctant lover, to a burgeoning relationship with a young fashion model, Arnold Beckoff’s greatest torment in life remains his turbulent relationship with his mother.
Featuring Simon Corfield
In celebration of Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s 25th Anniversary, we continue our longstanding tradition of telling LGBTQI stories with the reprisal of director Stephen Colyer’s 2013 critically acclaimed Torch Song Trilogy.
Musical Director Phil Scott
Produced by Darlinghurst Theatre Company DATES & TIMES Playing from 29 July – 26 August, 2018
“Director Stephen Colyer has created a wickedly funny and energetic trilogy” – Sydney Arts Guide
Tuesday – Saturday at 7:00pm
“Simon Corfield is gorgeous in the show…. Torch Song Trilogy was a landmark in gay theatre and this revival is simply excellent.” – SX Magazine.
Sunday at 5:00pm
“Immensely funny, entertaining and moving.” – – Australian Stage
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MAGGIE STONE by Caleb Lewis
An honest portrait of modern Australia. Meet Maggie Stone, the hard-hearted face of Australia’s belligerents. She’s a rude, prickly, fifty-something small loans officer who doesn’t owe the world a thing. After refusing a loan to a Sudanese immigrant in dire need, she learns of his desperate actions and finds herself drawn to a family left behind. Enter a ruthless creditor, demanding an impossible payment from a family already drowning in debt. Maggie learns first-hand the politics of charity, for even favours require gratitude, investment requires returns and an outstanding debt awaits satisfaction.
Director Sandra Eldridge Featuring Eliza Logan Produced by Darlinghurst Theatre Company DATES & TIMES Playing from 28 September – 21 October, 2018
Described by The Australian as “astutely incisive and often bitterly funny,” audiences will find the inherently flawed Maggie Stone frightfully familiar.
Tuesday – Saturday at 7:30pm
A Sydney Premiere
Saturday 13 & 20 October at 3:00pm
Sunday at 5:00pm
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LOVE
by Patricia Cornelius
An unapologetic, passionate and searing exploration of love. Tanya, Annie and Lorenzo desperately seek love in a loveless world. Shackled by grinding poverty and substance abuse they’re difficult to like, let alone love. They’ve been abused. They’re abusive. But it is love in all its distorted and mutated forms that holds them together. Patricia Cornelius is one of Australia’s most awarded and innovative playwrights. In 2004 Love won the Wal Cherry Award for Play of the Year and in 2006 an Awgie Award for Stage.
Director Rachel Chant Produced by Darlinghurst Theatre Company DATES & TIMES Playing from 16 November – 9 December, 2018
“To write about those who are forsaken, those we Tuesday – Saturday cross the street to avoid meeting, those we find at 7:30pm ugly and loud and uncouth, those we call trash and Sunday at 5:00pm miserable, and those who do terrible things interests me. To write these characters without sentimentality Saturday 1 & 8 December at 3:00pm and without judgement, above all to place them in the world that has created them, is a challenge. As it is to capture the yearning, the excruciating desire for something else, something better, something kinder, pleasurable even, in these characters who don’t have the words, or peace of mind.” – Patricia Cornelius Darlinghurst Theatre Company is proud to produce Love, a modern Australian classic. A Sydney Mainstage Premiere
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SPECIAL EVENTS NATIONAL PLAY FESTIVAL 2018 Produced by Playwriting Australia In partnership with Darlinghurst Theatre Company 21 – 24 March, 2018 | Eternity Playhouse
By Timothy Daly, Directed by Moira Blumenthal Produced by Shalom Supported by Darlinghurst Theatre Company
Australia’s only national celebration of new Australian plays and playwrights. This year’s program is rich in imagination, overflowing with individuality and loaded with insight.
5 – 22 July, 2018 | Eternity Playhouse
FEAST
WITS’ FESTIVAL FATALE 2018
Milk Crate Theatre and Branch Nebula In partnership with Darlinghurst Theatre Company
Feast responds to the artistry, strengths and lived experiences of members of the Milk Crate Theatre community. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of the multifariousness of homelessness and housing through examination of the issues from people who have experienced them. A site specific production in Redfern.
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THE MAN IN THE ATTIC
An amazing true story of a Jew who was hidden by a German couple, but when the war was over, they fail to tell him. An Australian premiere, which has already been performed to international acclaim.
Produced by Women in Theatre and Screen in Partnership with Darlinghurst Theatre Company 26 – 28 October, 2018 | Eternity Playhouse
Celebrating guts, freedom of expression and diversity, WITS’ critically acclaimed Festival Fatale is back again for 2018! Join us at the Eternity Playhouse in October for nail-biting theatre – by women, for everyone.
FESTIVALS, PERFORMANCES, FORUMS, VISUAL ARTS AND MORE. At the very heart of Darlinghurst Theatre Company is a firm belief that our responsibility as an arts organisation is to promote a democracy of ideas and foster dialogue and discussion in our community. This leads DTC to support public forums, festivals, events and performances that bring diverse, vital and topical conversations to our stage. In 2018 we will partner with leading organisations and deliver further opportunities for professional artists, audiences and our community.
DTC TALKS A series of forums to deepen the discussion provoked by our theatre productions. Inspiring leaders and speakers from our community will share their insights about topical issues.
DTC EXHIBITION SPACE Our new collaborations with local visual artists and the National Art School will see artists exhibiting their work in our new foyer gallery space including visual art that relates to our theatre productions.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR SPECIAL EVENTS www.darlinghursttheatre.com
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BOOKING YOUR TICKETS SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE Book a subscription to save up to 25% on the usual ticket price and secure your preferred dates and seats to our 2018 shows. 3 PLAYS Standard $138 Concession $120 4 PLAYS Standard $176 Concession $152 5 PLAYS Standard $210 Concession $180 6 PLAYS Standard $240 Concession $204
Online Book securely at darlinghursttheatre.com By phone Call 02 8356 9987 between 9.30am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday and we’ll process your booking for you. By completing a booking form Download the subscription booking form from our website, then post your completed form to:
No Booking Fees!
Darlinghurst Theatre Company 39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Choose your dates now, change them later!
You can also scan and email it to theatre@darlinghursttheatre.com
5 REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE
To book subscription in person Call us on 02 9331 3107 and schedule a time to come to the theatre and book with one of our friendly staff members on week days between 10am and 5pm.
Secure one of the most affordable subscriptions in town Celebrate Australian artists and innovative theatre. Support gender parity Ensure fair pay for artists Share $44 Mates Rates tickets with your friends and enjoy a discount at Nick’s Bar. 20
HOW TO PURCHASE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
SINGLE TICKETS
GIFT VOUCHERS
Standard $54 Group 8+ $44 Concession $44 Industry* $38 Under 30* $38 Preview $38
A gift voucher is the perfect present for any theatre lover. Gift vouchers are available for both single tickets and subscription packages at standard and concession prices.
No Booking Fees! * Available Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday only
HOW TO PURCHASE SINGLE TICKETS AND VOUCHERS Online Book securely at darlinghursttheatre.com By phone Call 02 8356 9987 between 9.30am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday and we’ll process your booking for you. In person Visit the Eternity Playhouse Box Office, open one hour prior to every performance.
SEATING MAP
TWO TROUT NICK’S RESTAURANT BAR Two Trout Restaurant is located in our theatre foyer. Our wonderful chefs, Lockie Clifford and Theo Hlorotiris create a delicious new menu for each of our productions. For the perfect night out, join us for dinner and a show.
In 2013 we named the beautiful foyer bar at the Eternity Playhouse in honour of Nick Enright, one of Australia’s greatest playwrights who was a mentor and guiding light to many Australian artists.
Open for pre-show dining Tuesday – Saturday and post-show dining on Sundays. (Excludes previews)
Our bar is open for evening performances and features specialty cocktails, fine wines from Brokenwood as well as a selection of quality beers, ciders and spirits.
Tables are limited, to make your reservation Call 02 8356 9987 (Mon – Fri, 9:30am to 5:30pm) Online Visit our website for bookings and the current menu
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OUR 25 YEAR HISTORY 1999 1993–1999 DTC produces 28 productions at 1993 the Wayside Chapel The rundown and disused Theatre many of which are new Australian and theatre in the Wayside International plays. Chapel, Kings Cross is Productions are largely fitted out and brought back to life by Darlinghurst funded from proceeds from adult evening Theatre Company (DTC). drama classes run The first production as Darlo Drama. DTC stages is Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, featuring an all-female cast. The Beckett Estate takes umbrage to the casting and cancels the production after one week of performances
DTC’s time at the Wayside Chapel Theatre comes to an abrupt end after a severe storm destroys the venue’s roof. A new home for the company is found in the form of the Reginald Murphy Hall in Potts Point, generously offered by the South Sydney Council. The transformation of the 1950’s community hall into a 111 seat black box theatre, bar and foyer was a family affair headed up by Glenn Terry and his brothers with over $500K raised for the development and was made possible with support of many volunteers.
2018 Darlinghurst Theatre Company celebrates its 25th Birthday having staged 260 productions by 3,700 artists and has played to over 470,000 audience members.
2016 DTC is the first theatre company in Australia to adopt a gender parity policy in the employment of all artists. DTC launches Share the Love, an initiative that provides free theatre tickets to people experiencing financial hardship.
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2015 DTC becomes the first theatre company in Australia, working under an independent theatre model, to pay award wages and industry rates to all its artists.
2001 A new Sydney venue in Potts Point, the Darlinghurst Theatre Co, opens its doors. The inaugural production is The Woolgatherer by William Mastosimone.
2001–2013 DTC stages over 184 productions involving over 2,300 artists at the Potts Point theatre. DTC established itself as a popular Sydney theatre destination and a creative platform for emerging professional artists.
2001–2010 In response to its local community, DTC founds Milk Crate Theatre, Australia’s first theatre company dedicated to homeless and disadvantaged people. 2007–2012 DTC founds Critical Stages to tour outstanding independent theatre and employs 120 artists touring to over 90 towns across Australia playing to over 80,000 people. 2009–2013
2013 2014–2017 DTC stages 27 productions at the Eternity Playhouse employing 300 artists.
The curtain is raised on the first production at the Eternity Playhouse, All My Sons by Arthur Miller.
DTC collaborates with the City of Sydney on the design and development of the Eternity Playhouse and raises over $690K for its fit out.
DTC donates the Potts Point theatre fit out, furnishings and technical equipment to the City of Sydney, now the home of the Hayes Theatre Company. 25
SUPPORT US Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s work is made possible with the generous support of our donors. Our Darlo Angel donors support our theatre productions. Our Share the Love donors share their love of theatre with those who can’t afford it. Our Mentorship Program donors support the artistic leaders of tomorrow.
For more information or to make a donation
visit our website, or phone 02 9331 3107, or email theatre@darlinghursttheatre.com All donations are tax deductible.
DARLO ANGELS Darlo Angel donations go towards the cost of staging productions including set, costumes, props, lighting, sound and artist wages. Supporter | $50 - $249 you are acknowledged on our supporters’ page on our website for a year. Honour Wall | $250+ you are acknowledged on our honour wall in our foyer and in all our show programs for a year. Take your Seat! | $500+ you are acknowledged on a plaque on a theatre seat, on our foyer honour wall and in our theatre programs for a year. Take Two Seats! | $1000+ you are acknowledged on plaques on two theatre seats for a year, on our honour wall and in all our show programs for a year. Production Patron | $5000+ you and a guest join us at all opening nights for the year and help us celebrate. Your name(s) will go on four theatre seat plaques and on our honour wall for a year. Receive acknowledgement on our posters, flyers & programs for your chosen production.
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SHARE THE LOVE
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Through our Share the Love program Darlinghurst Theatre Company shares the love of theatre with those who can’t afford to attend. We distribute free tickets to young people, adults and seniors experiencing financial difficulty and hardship.
Our Mentorship Program provides opportunities for up and coming artists including Directors, Writers, Set & Costume Designers, Lighting Designers and Sound Designers.
Share the Love tickets are $44 per ticket and it’s a tax-deductible donation. Darlinghurst Theatre Company distributes Share the Love tickets and provides supporters with updates on how the tickets are distributed.
Professional production experience is invaluable to an emerging artist’s career path. It helps to open doors and begins the development of lifelong associations. Please consider getting involved and help support the essential development of young artists. Supporters are acknowledged in our theatre programs for a year. Helping Hand | $250 Leg Up | $500 Door Opener | $1000 Path Finder | $5000
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HOST YOUR EVENT AT THE ICONIC ETERNITY PLAYHOUSE Darlinghurst Theatre Company takes great pride in welcoming you and your guests to our incredible theatre. We have an expert in-house events team covering hospitality, catering and all technical aspects of events. In the past few years we have welcomed many leading organisations including Médecins Sans Frontières Australia, Currency House, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney Women’s Fund, Himalayan Foundation Australia, Australian Writers Guild, Sydney Fringe Festival, SJB Architects, UNSW, The Japan Foundation, The Walkley Foundation, ACON and Amnesty International Australia. Visit our website for more information darlinghursttheatre.com or phone 02 9331 3107
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HISTORY OF THE BURTON STREET TABERNACLE The historic tabernacle, designed in the Victorian Free Classical style by Jasper Stone, opened in 1887 and operated as a Baptist Church until 1996. It was purchased by the City of Sydney in 2004, which commissioned its transformation into a theatre that opened as the Eternity Playhouse in November 2013. It was at the Burton Street Tabernacle on 14th December 1932 that Arthur Stace was first inspired to chalk the word “Eternity” anonymously on Sydney’s streets more than half a million times over the next 37 years.
HOW TO GET HERE
ACCESSIBILITY
Address Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Eternity Playhouse, 39 Burton Street Darlinghurst, 2010 NSW
Darlinghurst Theatre Company has lift access to the auditorium and foyer. An accessible bathroom is located in the foyer, and the auditorium accommodates patrons in wheelchairs.
Train | Museum Station is a ten-minute walk to Darlinghurst Theatre Company.
A hearing loop is in the auditorium which operates only with hearing aids equipped with the telephone coil (T-Switch). If you require the hearing loop facility please notify Box Office staff prior to the event.
Bus | Numerous bus routes stop on the corner of Oxford and Palmer Streets, a two-minute walk from the theatre. Visit www.sydneybuses.info for bus timetables.
The Companion Card is accepted for all Darlinghurst Theatre Company performances.
Parking is available at Wilson Car Park 70 Riley Street, Darlinghurst.
If you have any questions about accessibility please visit our website or call 02 8356 9987 for more information.
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CREATIVE TEAM Darlinghurst Theatre Company is staffed by a passionate group of theatre professionals who are the resident creative producing team for all of our productions and events. Executive Producer Glenn Terry Producer Amy Harris Communications Manager & Associate Producer Sophie Blacklaw Production Manager Cat Studley Event and Front of House Manager Rebecca Michel-Gerke Administrator Jacqueline Tooley
[02] 9438 5656
Board of Directors Chairperson Vicki Middleton Deputy Chair Dominic Tayco
Government Partners
Secretary Jim Behringer Ian Enright Kevin Farmer Iain Knight Pat Skalsky
Darlinghurst Theatre Company is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
2018 Season Brochure Design & illustrations Evi O. Photography Phil Erbacher & Brett Boardman Videography Yure Covich
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SUPPORTERS
Darlinghurst Theatre Company is supported through the City of Sydney’s Accommodation Grant Program
DARLINGHURST THEATRE COMPANY 39 Burton St, Darlinghurst
CONNECT WITH US @darlinghursttheatreco @darlinghursttheatreco @darlotheatre