Anne Matthews looks at a new era of ‘runs on the boards’ for the Sydney Theatre Company.
There’s a real buzz in the evenings these days at Walsh Bay on the northern side of The Rocks. This once rundown port area with its distinctive heritage-listed finger wharfs has been transformed into an area of upmarket apartments, offices, cafés and restaurants – and one of Sydney’s major cultural precincts, with theatres and the studios of numerous performing arts companies, including the Sydney Dance Company and Bangarra Dance Theatre.
Most come here, however, to attend performances of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC). Under the artistic auspices of internationally renowned actor Cate Blanchett and her husband, playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton, the STC is now playing annually to audiences in excess of 300,000.
Established by the NSW State Government in 1978 the STC has become Australia’s premier theatre company, presenting an annual 12-play program at its three Walsh Bay theatres – two at Pier 4/5 and another, Sydney Theatre, nearby on Hickson Road – as well as the Sydney Opera House’s Drama Theatre. Many of Australia’s most famous actors have performed in STC productions over the years, including Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Mel Gibson, Toni Collette and Cate Blanchett herself, while directors have included Neil Armfield, Barry Kosky and Baz Luhrmann.
The STC, however, has had mixed fortunes over its 30-year history. The company was launched in January 1980 with renowned director Richard Wherrett at the artistic helm. The STC enjoyed early success, with productions such as the musical Chicago bringing in the audiences. Wherrett was also instrumental in persuading the NSW Government to fund the creation of the 340-seat The Wharf theatre at Pier 4/5, which opened in December 1984.
Wherrett was followed by Wayne Harrison in 1990 and then well-known actor/director Robyn Nevin who became artistic director in mid-1999. Her tenure was a period when the STC underwent enormous growth and changes. Under Nevin, the STC created its own acting ensemble, The Actors Company, and the state-of-the-art 900-seat Sydney Theatre on Hickson Road was opened in January 2004.
Despite overall success, including increasing the subscriber base, these were difficult times. A modest government subsidy meant that the STC relied heavily on box-office income and the company was often criticised for its ‘safe’ productions – this was no time, however, to take risks with the programming. In an interview in 2006, for example, Nevin said, “My aim was simply to create a fine drama company. It was never about making it bigger but, of course, the company has grown and we are under enormous pressure.”
Star power
Fast forward to early 2008 when Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton took over as artistic directors. Better known for her acting career, including an Oscar-winning role in the 2004 film The Aviator and several Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards, Blanchett was a controversial choice for the STC job. Upton too was considered lacking in a directorial track record. There was further criticism of the couple’s intention to develop the STC into an international company and tour its productions around the world, as well as bringing overseas works to Sydney, such as 2011’s Terminus, a production by Ireland’s Abbey Theatre. What (said the theatre world) about Australian playwrights, actors, directors and designers?
It was obvious that Blanchett would also perform in STC plays and no-one doubted that her star power (she has been described as a “ticket sales magnet”) would draw audiences. Another important factor was her connections with theatrical royalty which has enabled her to attract international acting and directing stars such as William Hurt, Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liv Ullmann and Steven Soderbergh. Another coup was securing the patronage of Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani in 2007.
The couple’s first season, 2008, was not a promising start. Described as “dark” and “gloomy” the productions had been scheduled by their predecessor, subscribers fell to low numbers and the company recorded a financial loss. In 2009 however, when Upton and Blanchett programmed their own season, the STC made a very healthy $11 million at the box office (a 27 per cent increase on Nevin’s final season) and recorded a profit of over $600,000 – at a time when companies such as Opera Australia were making losses.
International acclaim
Despite the criticism of their ‘internationalism’, which has included an emphasis on American productions in 2010 and European works in 2011, Blanchett and Upton have created acclaim and global headlines for the Sydney Theatre Company and Australian theatre in general.
Their sold-out 2009 production, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by actor Liv Ullmann and starring Blanchett and Joel Edgerton, earned $2.6 million in its seven-week run. This quintessentially American play went on to New York, receiving rave reviews from critics, including “one of the finest interpretations of the play”. The 2010 production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya – adapted by Upton and starring Blanchett, Richard Roxburgh, Hugo Weaving and John Bell – sold over 44,000 tickets (one of the highest paid attendances in the STC’s history) and was later performed in Washington DC to more excellent reviews.
The company continues to foster local talent, however, by developing new Australian works for performance and replacing The Actors Company with The Residents, an ensemble of six actors in full-time employment. Present and future audiences are also catered for with productions being toured around Australia and a thriving education program for schools.
Box office success
Whatever the criticism of Blanchett and Upton, the figures speak for themselves. After four years of deficit the couple delivered impressive results at the end of their first three-year contract in December 2010 – subscribers rose to almost 17,000 in 2009 and 20,000-plus in 2010 and profit was increased to over $919,000 – a second surplus in a row. A clever choice of productions, leading to bigger audiences and higher profits, as well as increased corporate and private sponsorship, meant that their term was extended to late 2013.
In the STC’s 2010 annual report Chairman David Gonski said, “It is no small thing in the non profit arts industry to deliver such a financially sound year while at the same time investing in the development of artists and audiences”.
Statistics for 2011 are not yet available but this year’s shows, featuring stars such as Miranda Otto, Colin Friels and Bryan Brown, have been equally successful, including an Indigenous Australian dance/drama work, Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, described by Australian Stage as “An unforgettable, rambunctious, theatrical event . . .” and the acclaimed Andrew Upton-directed The White Guard.
It looks like Blanchett and Upton will continue to fill the STC theatres, make a profit for the company and bring the evening crowds to Walsh Bay. Sure, there are still some lukewarm reviews from critics and theatregoers alike but, as they say, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
