UA31316 Lumen Spring 2024 Final Digital - Flipbook - Page 23
From little things,
big things grow
One of the first companies to
perform in the then brand-new
theatre was the University of
Adelaide Theatre Guild, formed
in 1938 with the goal of bringing
the University and the wider
community together through
theatre. Compared to the
499 seat Union Hall where
the Guild predominantly
performed in the 1960s and
‘70s, the Little Theatre was
tiny and challenging.
Celebrating 50 years
By Gary George
When the Little Theatre opened at the University of Adelaide
in 1974, early users described it as ‘unbearably hot’, with
‘inadequate’ signage and ‘deplorable’ bar facilities. Fifty years
later this unconventional space is still very difficult to find, has
minimal room offstage, no fly tower and occasional issues with
flooding. Yet for many this tiny theatre is a jewel.
Designed by Ralph Middenway and Robert Dixon as part of the
Union House development, the Little Theatre has a 7.6m thrust
stage with stepped seating on three sides for a maximum audience
of just 120. The unique Actors’ Gallery, inspired by Shakespeare’s
Globe Theatre, sits behind and above the stage area helping to
make this special space incredibly versatile.
With a front row that is essentially on the stage there is no barrier
between patrons and performers. This unavoidable intimacy can
test the mettle of both actors and audience, yet it is largely why this
space is so beloved by both.
The company initially trialled
the space with smaller scale,
riskier productions like 1974’s
controversial Lulu: A Sex
Tragedy, and later to try out
new work by local playwrights. Through the ‘80s and ‘90s, however,
the Guild began to produce more shows in the Little Theatre
and since the 2000s virtually all their productions have been
based there.
After the University closed its drama degree in the late 1990s,
the Guild became one of the only places where students could
gain their first taste of theatre. The formation of the Theatre Guild
Student Society (TGSS) in 2017 was the culmination of the
Guild’s ethos of fostering new talent and encouraging students
to become involved in theatre. Today the TGSS, supported by the
Guild, creates three completely student devised shows every year,
and TGSS alumni have gone on to perform, design and direct for
the Guild proper.
For 50 years the constraints of the Little Theatre have forced
creators to find innovative and creative ways to tell their stories.
Those involved in these productions, and the audiences lucky
enough to see them, have reaped the benefits. Through the Guild,
TGSS and the University’s Music Theatre course, Adelaide’s future
theatre practitioners will continue to cut their teeth in the crucible
that is the Little Theatre – with luck, for another 50 years.
Gary George first performed on the Little Theatre stage in 1987 and
has been in love with the place ever since. A professional writer, editor,
historian and actor, Gary is a current member of the University of
Adelaide Theatre Guild’s Board of Management and regularly
performs with numerous Adelaide-based theatre companies.
Images: A poster from the original 1974 production, Lulu: A Sex
Tragedy. Main photo, by Isaac Freeman, is of students rehearsing
Haunting on Hill House in the theatre in July.
LUMEN
