Andrew Gray and Cliff Wallis in the Headland Theatre. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
The wait is over, with a new versatile venue for the performing arts opening in Tathra this month.
Cliff Wallis, a long-time supporter of live music and the owner of the adjacent Tathra Hotel, is the man behind Headland Theatre. The new space will provide a flexible, professional performance venue that expands opportunities for Far South Coast artists and audiences.
“The theatre is the culmination of 10 years’ renovation of the hotel, none of which would have been possible without the support of the community and tourists,” Mr Wallis said.
Alongside him are experienced and talented arts leaders Lindy Hume and Andrew Gray from Crimson Rosella Creative Adventures (CRCA). They are helping to get Headland Theatre established and advising on a program of theatre, music, talks, workshops and screenings.
The March program begins with live music performances by Daniel Champagne, Luke O’Shea, Kara Coen and Piper Allen. CRCA will present its first Barstool Conversation with local arts leaders Four Winds’s Leigh Small, Gabby Rose of Fling Physical Theatre and Janice Falcone of South East Centre for Contemporary Arts.
In April several family-friendly events are programmed for the school holidays including award-winning kids band The Vegetable Plot, and A Little Bit of Blue is an interactive environmental detective story from Little Wing Puppets.
Another highlight is Phantasmagoria, featuring a magic lantern, one of the earliest forms of projected entertainment. Later in the year Musica Viva will visit the theatre, including a free lunchtime concert for school students.
Kara Coen’s latest single is being released on 14 March and will be played on ABC South East Radio at 9:30 am on 13 March. Photo: Bronwyn Kidson.
CRCA will curate a diverse spring theatre program.
“We are partnering with other theatre companies in Sydney and Melbourne and regional NSW who work in similar small spaces, limited in size and scale,” Mr Gray said. “We plan to present new works from professional artists to the area that would not normally be seen in this region, plus we are developing new works of our own.”
He said Headland Theatre could be used very flexibly with no fixed stage or seating and capacity for 80 to 100 people.
“It is attached to a hotel, so you don’t have to activate the space,” Mr Gray said. “It is an active venue people are already visiting.”
Whereas artists hiring venues such as community halls usually must organise sound, lighting and catering, Headland Theatre provides those facilities.
Opening the program on 14 March is Far South Coast singer-songwriter Kara Coen and her band The Fireflies. She is “super excited” about the theatre.
“It was very collaborative working with Headland Theatre rather than hiring the venue and having to get a PA system and organise food trucks,” she said. “Doing your own show can be a massive and expensive venture.”
The stunning location of Headland Theatre. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
Having performed at Milton Theatre twice, she said it was quite different from performing in a pub or club where people might not have come for the music.
“Theatres are for people who want to sink into the music and there is that intimacy,” she said. “You have 45 minutes to build a relationship with the audience and something special happens. It is so much easier for that to happen than in a pub where other things are going on.”
Ms Coen said Headland Theatre was unique in the area because people could have a meal at the hotel then watch a show.
“We need more of these different spaces that are specifically dedicated to theatre, music and the arts,” she said. “It means more opportunities for artists to put on their own shows and do it in their own way and make it pay because we artists still need to eat.”
Mr Wallis said some of the acts performing in the hotel were interested in bringing a guest artist to play with them in the theatre. He is also keen to screen art house films at the theatre and make it available for private functions.
CRCA has put out an expression of interest for artists to apply for week-long winter residencies for creative development. It is another way that Mr Wallis is supporting the arts.
“What other pub owner says I need to do a theatre? He really wants a space that is valuable and used by the community for a range of things,” Mr Gray said. “He is covering the cost of Viva Musica doing additional shows for schools for free. That is real generosity.”
Check out Headland Theatre’s line-up here.
