A Basin Full of Delights

The Basin Theatre Group’s (Vic) new production Over My Dead Body (November 9 to December 1) is the latest in a long line of productions dating back more than 50 years. Coral Drouyn catches up with this exciting Community Theatre.

Anyone under 60 will find it difficult to understand what it meant to start a community theatre group back in 1954. There was no television, six o’clock closing meant you couldn’t even meet mates at the pub, the roads out in the foothills were unmade and not an easy drive and though petrol rationing had ended in 1950 it was still scarce. So what did people do for entertainment? Well, we played games, listened to the radio, gathered round the pianola and sang or, if you were like Edna Chandler, you gathered your friends and decided to put on a play. With Edna directing (a role she fulfilled for many years) the play Quiet Weekend opened at the Basin Progress Hall and was a hit! At last there was an alternative to staying home, and the plays became an event, a reason to get dressed up, a night to look forward to; entertainment in the country….not even a suburb of the city in those days.

That was 58 years ago and since then we have been bombarded with “entertainment” in all shapes and forms. There’s so much on offer that it’s hard to choose. Yet, far from falling by the wayside, The Basin Theatre Group –or TBTG – goes from strength to strength. It has its own theatre, complete with cocktail bar and free parking (there’s even a free programme and refreshments), and it now puts on four plays a year. The foyer displays the numerous awards the company has justifiably earned and, if you live anywhere in the shadow of Mt Dandenong, chances are you’ll go there at least once a year.

Their latest offering is a black comedy  – TBTG do comedies so well, as testified by their last hilarious production Out of Order. Over My Dead Body introduces us to Gerald, who is now expecting to lead a quiet life after the death of his wife Helen. But Helen has other ideas. She’s pre-arranged a succession of suitable females so that Gerald won’t be lonely in his old age! What follows is both funny and poignant and, with TBTG’s stalwart Joe Tuppenny (what a great name!) at the directing helm, this promises to be a great final production for the year. Community theatre is alive and well in Victoria but The Basin Theatre still needs community support to thrive. And we all need to laugh. At a mere $22 a ticket, it’s considerably cheaper than a trip to the Doctor’s, and a great way to be part of your community.

Over My Dead Body runs from Nov 9^th to Dec1st, 2012.

More Community Theatre