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The La Mama Theatre is a theatrical venue located at 205 Faraday St, Carlton, Victoria. It opened in a former factory building on 30 July 1967 and still operates today under the direction of Liz Jones.
The theatre, an initiative of Betty Burstall, was inspired by the "off-off-Broadway" theatre scene in New York City. Betty and her husband, filmmaker Tim Burstall, had just returned from a trip to New York and wanted to re-create the vibrancy and immediacy of the small theatres there.
At a time when the production of Australian plays was almost non-existent (and financially risky), La Mama's non-profit organisation provided the venue for the performance of new experimental Australian theatre works.
The first play performed at La Mama was a work by a new Australian writer Jack Hibberd, entitled Three Old Friends (1967), whose most successful play Dimboola opened there in 1969.
The production of Australian works at La Mama soon became a staple, and within the first two years of its life twenty-five, new Australian plays had premiered there.
La Mama also nurtured new works by composers, poets, and filmmakers. The opening of the alternative theatre provided a home base for many important figures in theatre and film including Hibberd and Alex Buzo. It was also regularly used by underground performance troupe Tribe (who later collaborated with Spectrum). The theatre's house troupe, the La Mama Group, established by actor-director Graeme Blundell evolved into the Australian Performing Group.
La Mama's foundation marked the beginning of the emergence of a distinctly Australian style of theatre. It also fostered a pool of talent that would flow on into many areas of the Australian arts – playwrights, actors, directors, technicians, musicians, filmmakers, poets and comedians. The theatre regularly screened new works by film-makers such as Bryan Davies, Nigel Buesst, John Carnody, Bert Dehling and John Duigan, and other notable names associated with the theatre include David Williamson, Barry Dickins, Daniel Keene, John Romeril, Tes Lyssiotis, Helen Collins, Lloyd Jones, Judith Lucy and Richard Frankland.
It is located in a building which built in 1883 for Anthony Reuben Ford, a local printer. The building has also served as a boot factory, electrical engineering workshop, and a silk underwear factory. The building listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. La Mama’s list of Alumni reads like the Who’s Who of Australian theatre including such as David Williamson, Cate Blanchett, Jack Hibberd, Graeme Blundell, Judith Lucy and Julia Zemiro.
La Mama also plays a significant role in the broader community, providing access to people from marginalised and other backgrounds. Through its audience access and mentorship initiatives, La Mama offers many groups with the opportunity for self-expression in a theatrical context.
In 2008, La Mama achieved its long-held dream of buying the property at 205 Faraday Street in which it has operated for more than 40 years. The $1.7 million needed to accomplish this goal was raised within four months.
As well as operating from its original birthplace in Faraday Street, La Mama has a second performance venue in Carlton, La Mama Courthouse in Drummond Street. Both venues combine to present more than 50 new Australian works annually.
La Mama is more than its buildings – it is a space – both physical and virtual – which supports the germination and realisation of contemporary Australian theatre. In many respects, La Mama is a creative touchstone. The work it supports – always inquisitive in content and form – offers an ongoing insight into contemporary Australian society.
THE TEAM
Liz Jones, Artistic Director & CEO
Pippa Bainbridge, Company Manager & Creative Producer
Ellen Rijs, Administration Coordinator
Maureen Hartley, Education Coordinator
Neddwellyn Jones, Communications Coordinator
Lisa Hobartner & Rebecca Etchell, House Managers
Mary Helen Sassman & Caitlin Dullard, Community Producers
Fiona Wiseman, Preservation Coordinator
Graham Downey, Script Appraiser
La Mama Theatre
205 Faraday Street,
Carlton VIC 3053
Australia
info@lamama.com.au
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Here are few videos reflect some of their work.