Loading...
07 January 2008
Oz Opera's new production of Madame Butterfly, directed by John Bell from Bell Shakespeare, took just 2 days to sell out the first performance after subscription packages went on sale at the 2008 Glasshouse Spring Season program launch on Port Macquarie's Town Green on 6 December 2007.
Some 600 people attended the 2008 program launch, clustering under a huge marquee, to witness the historic event. Robyn Birrell, Director of Performing Arts at the Glasshouse (and previously from Geelong Performance Arts Centre), orchestrated a great piece of theatre as the function unfolded, revealing the shows programmed for 2008 and introducing special guests visiting Port Macquarie for the gala event. They included actor and producer Grant Dodwell, soprano Jane Parkin and musical conductor Brian Castles-Onion from Opera Australia, Rob Brookman, General Manager of the Sydney Theatre Company and prominent artist Janet Laurence. Jane Parkin enthralled the audience with several arias from Madame Butterfly.
Grant Dodwell, perhaps best known for his role as Dr Simon Bowen in A Country Practice , is the producer of one of the shows, Codgers, which stars well-known Australian actors Henri Szeps, Ronald Falk and Ron Haddrick.
Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf Review is a popular perennial in Sydney and now audiences in Port Macquarie will have the opportunity to laugh along with their city counterparts. Rob Brookman, General Manager of STC, was enthusiastic about the Glasshouse at the 2008 program launch and affirmed his belief that the Glasshouse will readily draw strong attendances as well as attracting the best touring shows in the country. “The Glasshouse is a testament to the truism – build it and they will come and, if you want to attract the best of what the arts has to offer, a first class theatre is terribly important.“
With over 50% of available tickets sold in just one week, it seems that Rob Brookman's prediction has come to fruition. Five show subscription packages, which included tickets to Madame Butterfly, sold out within 48 hours. Ticketing whizz Jeannie Hayes, from Frankston Arts Centre, flew in to Port Macquarie to give the Glasshouse team a hand as bookings came in thick and fast.
You would have to say the Glasshouse 2008 season launch has been a huge success – a brand new theatre complex, yet to open, selling half its seats in such a short period of time is surely to be applauded. Feedback from a number of individual artists to date is that the quality of the building's amenities such as dressing rooms, rehearsal space, even adequate lockers to store instruments, makes the Glasshouse very appealing for performers. Add to that idyllic acoustics, state of the art technical facilities, quality lighting plus recording and broadcast capabilities, and you have a mix of features that is irresistible for artists who are constantly aiming for their best performance. In the words of one well known actor, the Glasshouse is “a dream venue”. Well done Port Macquarie – it seems you are still Bob Carr's ‘City of the Arts'.
