Critical Stages secures funding
In positive news, Critical Stages Touring is the recipient of two grants in the latest round of the Australia Council’s Playing Australia touring program.
Totalling over $1.4m the funding will ensure that Australia’s national touring theatre company can continue to bring outstanding independent theatrical experiences to regional and remote communities for years to come.
The first grant, for their 2022 touring activities, will benefit the remounted production of Samah Sabawi’s THEM; seasons in Wyong and Whittlesea for The Good Room’s I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You; and a 17-week national tour of Junkyard Beats’ sustainability showstopper, The Box Show.
The second, and most exciting, grant awards them the Playing Australia Multi-Year Investment from 2023 to 2025, supporting the touring ambitions of countless independent artists, as well as access to great Australian theatre for the more than 150 communities that will benefit from seeing local stories on local stages.
The return to multi-year funding creates an environment of security and flexibility for artists, venue partners, and audiences in remote and regional areas. It allows the team to plan further ahead with more certainty, while also remaining responsive and adaptable.
Multi-Year Playing Australia investment was an absolute game-changer for Critical Stages when they first received it in 2018. It has allowed them to reach further, and connect more deeply with artists and communities right around the country.
Right now, this support gives a vital boost to their work and is of great value to the arts in the recovery of regional communities in 2022 and beyond. Touring productions extend employment and career development opportunities for actors, designers, writers, directors, musicians, stage crew, stage managers and technicians. But most of all, it extends the reach of outstanding works of independent Australian theatre. It allows Critical Stages to create memorable, meaningful live experiences that connect communities everywhere.
A copy of the Minster’s full list of recipients can be found here.
Find out more about Critical Stages Touring from their website.
Publisher Note: Direct from Press Release
