La Boite Season 2015

La Boite Season 2015

For its 90thbirthday year, La Boite Theatre Company has unveiled what it describes as the most culturally diverse 2015 season to grace any stage in the country, ranging from star-studded classics to a story of a Congolese child soldier by one of Australia’s most exciting new playwrights.

Five of the ten writers and directors responsible for its new 2015 Mainhouse productions are women and half of the actors come from non-Anglo backgrounds.

Big names include Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues), Luke Carroll (Play School) Helen Christinson (A Doll’s House & Sisters of War) and multiple Helpmann Award-winner Christen O’Leary (Bombshells, End of the Rainbow).

Next year will be Artistic Director and CEO Chris Kohn’s first program at the helm and his previous role as the country’s first Theatre Diversity Associate funded by the Australia Council and Arts Queensland shines throughout the program.

Mr Kohn (pictured) said the cultural diversity of artists and strong representation of women in key artistic roles was a reflection of the vibrancy of Queensland’s theatre sector in which La Boite plays a vital part.

“As one of the country’s oldest continually operating theatre companies, La Boite has many times reinvented itself to remain alive to the present - this spirit of renewal is central to next year’s program,” Mr Kohn said. “Although we are 90 years old, the company boasts a youthful approach; driven by optimism, curiosity, restlessness and an appetite for adventure. The 2015 program demonstrates that this appetite is stronger than ever.

“I am a strong believer that diversity drives excellence. We have to find ways to make our stage reflective of, and relevant to, the world outside its walls. I am very excited about Prize Fighter by a Congolese-Australian playwright, featuring an African cast and inspired by real-life stories from war-torn Congo.”

Written and conceived by current La Boite Artist-in-Residence, Future D. Fidel, Prize Fighter is a harrowing and uplifting tale that follows a boy who is orphaned by war and forced to become a child soldier before building a new life as a professional boxer in Brisbane.

In another world premiere, Ashleigh Cummings will make her La Boite debut in Samson, a brutally honest and poignant coming-of-age story by 2013 Playwright-in-Residence Julia-Rose Lewis which tells the story of four teenagers grappling with the death of a friend in an Australian country town. 

Highly acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller will present a new adaptation of Euripides’ classic Medea featuring Christen O’Leary and Helen Christinson. Miller’s experience as a human rights lawyer, which included detailed research into historical cases of infanticide, allows a unique perspective this timelessly fascinating treatise on love, betrayal and revenge. For the little ones, Maxine Mellor’s version of The Wind in the Willows, a one-man show featuring Luke Carroll, will take them on a raucous adventure deep in to the Wild Woods, while La Boite’s co-production with shake & stir theatre co Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts will return by popular demand.

Award-winning director Benjamin Schostakowski will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Transplanting the action from an enchanted wilderness to a nostalgia-tinged Australian suburb of the not-too-distant-past, the hyper-theatrical rendition will retain the magic and cheekiness of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy.


A Midsummer Night’s Dreamwill be Benjamin Schostakowski’s La Boite Mainhouse debut, following his great success as a La Boite Indie director with A Tribute of Sorts in 2012.

“We make a conscious and significant investment in unearthing some of Australia’s most exciting independent artists, providing professional pathways and support to bring their unique visions to a larger audience,” Mr Kohn said. “We have been putting more resources in behind-the-scenes work, such as creative developments, workshops and residencies. We are preparing a new generation of artists and developing new audiences at the same time.

“All four of our previous Playwrights-in-Residence have seen their work progress to our Roundhouse theatre. Our 2015 Artists-in-Residence backgrounds range from culturally diverse backgrounds from Iraq, to Africa, Western Europe and the Philippines.

In 2015, La Boite’s renowned Indie program will showcase the work of some of Queensland and Australia’s most exciting independent artists: Natalie Abbott, Krystal Sweedman, Elbow Room and James Brennan. Established in 2010, the platform was created to provide a platform for independent artists to present their work in a professional environment to new audiences.


Mr Kohn said the Indie program remained an important priority for La Boite and will continue to provide a means for the company to identify new artists to commission for the Mainhouse program.

2015 Mainhouse productions at the Roundhouse Theatre

The Wind in the Willows: 7 to 17 January

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: 7 February to 7 March

Samson: 17 April to 2 May 

Medea: 30 May to 20 June

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts: 4 to 11 July 2015

Prize Fighter: 5 to 26 September

La Boite Indie 2015

Maximum by Natalie Abbott: 12 to 22 August, The Loft Theatre

Sunnytown by Krystal Sweedman: 4 to 31 October, Roundhouse Theatre

The Motion of Light in Water created by Elbow Room: 4 to 21 November, Roundhouse Theatre

The Chat by James Brennan: 4 to 14 November, La Boite Studio


For more information visit laboite.com.au.

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