Bondi theatre takes final bow

BY KENJI SATO

It has produced over 200 productions, including 130 premiers of new Australian dramas.

But due to lack of funding, the Tamarama Rock Surfers theatre company has closed down after 18 years of bringing original drama to the Eastern suburbs.

The announcement was made last Thursday, December 17th, following drastic cuts to Australia’s Federal Arts budget.

Rock Surfers had applied for funding from the Australia Council and Arts NSW, but their applications were turned down.

Theatre director Shane Bosher had ambitious plans for the Theatre Company in 2016, and company Chair Nell Schofield said that she was disappointed to see those plans go to waste.

“Shane had put together what was possibly the Company’s best season to date for 2016. It championed a diversity of experience, backing female, GLBTI, Pacific Island and Asian-Australian artists in particular,” Ms Schofield said.

“It is a complex funding environment at present for the arts and sadly, due to a shift in funding priorities, we did not receive enough funding support to enable us to deliver it.”

“We now feel that winding down the activities of the Company is the only responsible form of action.”

Rock Surfers had operated under an ethos of ‘backing the next generation of artists’, and had jumpstarted the careers of hundreds of Australian actors and playwrights.

Greens MP Jenny Leong said that “savage cuts to key arts organisations” posed a threat to the entire Australian arts sector.

“By gutting the companies that support emerging artists, the Government is destroying the future of the industry,” she said.

“We need to provide avenues for young creatives to develop their craft and to tell Australian stories in the theatre and on film. We want to see a thriving arts scene today and also guarantee a strong and vibrant sector in the future.”