From Bust to Boom

A raft of commercial and independent theatre producers are sharing the spoils from the Federal  Government’s 200 million dollar RISE program. They range from funding for new musicals and plays, supporting productions disrupted by the pandemic, to more than one million dollars for a Guns N’ Roses tour. Is all the money being well spent? David Spicer reports.

The timing of the pandemic could not have been worse for the producer of Rolling Thunder Vietnam, the concert drama which was poised for a national tour in 2020 (pictured above - photographer Dylan Evans).

“It was up and running when all theatres across Australia were abruptly closed, and I had to scramble to survive,” said producer Rebecca Blake, who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“To make matters worse, there was no insurance - and there still isn’t - available to live entertainment producers.”

She was upset and further demoralized when she missed out on the first round of funding under the clunkily named Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand program.

When news came through that she had secured almost half a million dollars in a later round, she was hugely relieved. 

“The RISE grant will enable Rolling Thunder Vietnam to return to the stage for a national tour in early 2023. Without the grant, it is unlikely the acclaimed production would ever be seen by audiences again.

“The funding is for a genuine restart of an all-Australian production that has provided opportunities for young and emerging talent.”   

Blake Entertainment is one of the deserving winners from the RISE program, which was launched by the Prime Minister in 2020 , alongside Guy Sebastian. The singer later expressed regret at being used “as a prop” and complained that the money wasn’t flowing through fast enough.

The decisions are not being made by the Australia Council, which has traditionally doled out the cash to the not-for-profit arts sector, but the office of Arts Minister Paul Fletcher.

Politicians choosing which projects are winners – instead of industry appointees or bureaucrats - is frowned upon by many in the arts establishment.

Author Tom Keneally, in his new book A Bloody Good Rant, wrote that the politicians “assume the air of satraps, of Habsburg emperors, distributing beneficence, a method that compared to arm’s-length endowment that is gratuitous and subjective.”

The Shadow Arts Minister Tony Kelly told the ABC’s Insiders Program that the “additional money is for the companies that the minister has decided are significant. Which sends a message to the rest of the sector.”

One of the significant companies which secured funding was TEG Dainty, which is a self-described global entertainment company.

It secured $750,000 for a tour of the US band Guns N’ Roses and $450,000 for its arena tour of the musical Bat Out of Hell.

A spokesman for Arts Minister Paul Fletcher told Stage Whispers that “a grant of $750,000 was awarded in the batch four of RISE funding for a stadium tour of Guns N’ Roses, who will perform in six cities across Australia. (An additional grant of $600,000 followed in round six.)

“This project is creating over 16,000 employment opportunities for Australian artists and support staff, it is anticipated to reach an audience of over 233,000 and the event will also drive demand for hospitality, travel and accommodation with corresponding flow-on economic benefits.”

The question this raises is if a Guns N’ Roses concert is going to sell 233,000 tickets and rake in $40 million plus, did it really need taxpayers to toss in anything? The seven members of Gun N’ Roses hadn’t even arrived in Australia prior to the lockdown.

Other major Australian producers are on the winners’ list. The Michael Cassel Group, John Frost Crossroads Live and New Theatricals each secured around a million dollars for their respective productions of Hamilton, 9 to 5 the musical and Come From Away. Unlike TEG Dainty, these organisations did suffer catastrophic shutdowns of large productions, which were on stage when the pandemic struck.

Image: Hamilton Australian cast. Photographer: Daniel Boud

At the other end of the spectrum some smaller producers have been big winners from RISE. Some of these might look like very good investments of taxpayers’ money down the track if they produce hits, just as the Canadian Government was well pleased with its initial investment in a what was once a new organisation called Cirque du Soleil.

In July the independent Music Theatre company Squabbalogic trumpeted on its Facebook page that it was “gobsmascked” to have secured $850,000 to develop three top secret musicals.

Artistic Director Jay James-Moody revealed some of the secrets to Stage Whispers.

“We have a new major musical commission with myself, Xavier Coy and Lloyd Allison-Young - a sports satire centring on the Australian cricket cheating scandal; workshops for our experiential theatre adaptation of John Wyndham’s sci-fi dystopia Day of the Triffids; and workshops for a bold reimagining of a classic that we hope to tour in 2023.

“Additionally, we have partial funding set aside to contribute to the eventual staging of The Dismissal, as well as the cast recording of that show. Lots of very exciting stuff which we hope to bring to audiences in 2022-23, along with a few other yet to be announced surprises.”

The Michael Cassel Group secured $400,000 for largescale musical workshops. One is for a musical from the songs of John Farnham, set to a book by Tommy Murphy. The other is a musical that uses the songs of INXS.

Another new work that has secured significant funding is Midnight: Cinderella.

The production, with music and lyrics by John Foreman and Anthony Costanzo, is described as “featuring a funny, intelligent and strong-willed Cinderella, who is determined to make her mark. Enchanted by this feisty and alluring stranger, the Prince wades into uncharted territory and quickly learns ‘Ella’ is like no one he has met before.”

Garry McQuinn, the producer behind Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, secured funding to produce a musical adaptation of the Australian TV series Round the Twist, under the direction of Simon Phillips.

The cult classic was famous for its "deliciously macabre" plot lines. Episodes included children being attacked by a deluge of birds-do, a strange cabbage patch family emerging out of a giant cabbage to reclaim their baby, a water spirit helping a child pee over a wall in a pissing competition, and a ghost dog that curses a child to end every sentence with the phrase 'without my pants'.

Dancing Giant Productions picked up a small grant for a new work called Dog Man The Musical - a humorous new Australian production for ages six and up, based on the international bestselling series by Dav Pilkey, with song, dance, puppetry, and hijinks.

Critical Stages Touring is using a RISE grant to produce Alphabetical Sydney: All Aboard. The new touring musical for young audiences is adapted from the popular and acclaimed children’s book by Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti.

Neil Gooding Productions secured funding for two new works. The first, Drummer Queens - a percussive concert, got to the stage in 2021 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.  

Image: Drummer Queens. Photographer: David Hooley.

Next in line for production is LEAP, described as “an innovative, new theatrical experience which fuses remarkable choreography, classical and rock music, and spectacular lighting, created by leading young Australian creatives.”

Another intriguing new work to get support was the Australasian Dance Collective Limited’s Lucie in the Sky: Emotionally Coded Drone Project. It is described as “a drone and dance show choreographed with human movement patterns, challenging our perceptions of Artificial Intelligence.”

Producer David Venn secured two grants. One of them was to re-stage his cancelled tour of The Wedding Singer.

“The RISE grant will offer much needed support to cover sunk costs and remount the production,” he said.

“We also received funding for Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical. This production will embark on a national tour across Australian in 2022 and create much needed employment opportunities for more Australian artists and creative workers.”

A RISE grant was also secured to produce North by Northwest, starring David Campbell, at the Sydney Lyric in March.

Image: David Campbell in North by Northwest. Photographer: Daniel Boud

Adapted for the stage by Carolyn Burns and directed by Simon Phillips, North by Northwest is described as “having every twist, every thrill and every hairbreadth escape from Hitchcock's original genius work.”

And if you can’t see the productions live – then Australian Theatre Live has secured more than a million dollars in funding to re-broadcast performances.

Not so long ago the Creative Director of ATL, Grant Dodwell, was downcast about lack of support for his venture but the pandemic has prompted a rush of theatre companies wanting to add digital broadcasts.

“We captured Queensland Theatre’s Return to the Dirt virtually. We streamed “live” with six cameras from the Bille Brown Theatre to our office in Sydney and directed the camera crew,“ he said.

“Return to the Dirt will be available to stream on the QT website from Dec 1^st and after 4 months ATLive will distribute.

“Mitchell Butel’s Pinchgut Opera production of Apollo & Dafne has been very well received, is available online and will soon have short term seasons at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Digital Concert Hall.

“January will be a hectic time for ATLive, capturing four performances, and in March / April 2022 we will tour The Best of The Sydney Festival to cinemas and arts centres nationwide.

“Keating – The Gospel According to Paul & the STC’s final Wharf Revue – Goodbye & Good Luck - will be released in cinemas in February / March.

“The two-year support from the Federal Government RISE initiative is a springboard to future enterprises.”

Not surprisingly the winners are grinners, and the Federal Arts Minister says the 387 RISE funded projects will generate almost 170,000 job opportunities for artists, performers and associated support industries.

Audiences can make their own judgement about whether it all has been money well spent.