La Boite is Australia's oldest continuously running theatre company, having its origins in the 1920s when Barbara Sisley had the idea of forming a repertory theatre in Brisbane. Then called the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society, its first production was in 1925. It wasn't until 1967 that the company opened its own theatre, converting a small house on Hale Street in Milton into a theatre in the round and christening it 'La Boite' (French for 'the box'). Bille Brown starred in its first production – the famous 'angry young man' play Look Back in Anger, directed by Babette Stephens.
The 70-seater was replaced with an architect-designed 200-seat theatre in 1972, which remained its famous home until the end of 2003 when the company moved into the purpose-built Roundhouse Theatre on the Kelvin Grove campus of QUT. Here, the company plays a vital role as a producer of new Australian works, and its stated vision is to be Australia's most diverse theatre company.