While there are some signs of life in Sydney’s theatre scene, from digital monologues care of the Opera House to IRL dinner and a show deals at Darlinghurst Theatre’s Red Carpet Cabaret and Premiere at the Universal, many stages remain dark, lit only by eerie ghost lights.
But have no fear, the Department of Fundament, Movement, Improvement and Presentment has a solution for theatre-goers hungry for the new norm to look more like the old norm of the Beforetime again.
Sydney Theatre Buses will present a guided sightseeing tour of Sydney’s hibernating theatre scene as led by some of its glittering stars. They include Simon Burke (Mary Stuart), Chika Ikogwe (Fangirls) and Lucia Mastrantone (The Harp in the South).
They promise each tour, which accommodate 15 passengers and depart from Wooloomooloo's Old Fitzroy Theatre, will feature equal parts histrionics and nostalgia. The tours pull back the curtain to offer juicy insights into the history of Sydney’s most-loved theatres, and there will be dollops of insider goss too.
A collaboration between An Assorted Few, Ban Shakespeare and Green Door Theatre Company, the tours are the brainchild of Alexander Berlage (American Psycho) and Antoinette Barbouttis (Cool Pool Party). They run Thursday to Saturday, 6pm and 8.15pm between July 9-18, and each trip takes about 90 minutes.
Tickets cost $50 per person, with all profits going towards supporting the Actor’s Benevolent Fund, so get your Opal in order and hop on.
This article is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
