A
non-professional company committed to excellence in musical theatre
Who are we Committee History Contact Us
In 1956 a group of enthusiasts gathered to form a Church Choir at the Electra Street Methodist Church. The result was the commencement of Babirra Players who presented a concert of various choral items and Trial By Jury. This program proved to be so successful that it was repeated and plans were formed to continue producing G&S Operettas to raise funds for charity.
A copy of the ticket for the first Babirra Show, 1956
Rehearsals were held at Electra Street moving to our current location Highfield Road Uniting Church in 1958. Rehearsals were held from the beginning of February through till the end of May, with shows performed from June through to November.
In
these shows the long season required Principal characters to be
understudied. Performances generally were on Saturday Nights with an
occasional Friday night performance and ranged in location from
Brighton to Coburg. Country
performances were added a few years later to Lake Bolac, Bendigo,
Eaglehawk and Warragul. The popularity of these performances saw the
waiting list of venues grow rapidly.
It was left to the sponsor group to organise the venue and associated
details allowing Babirra to maximise their fundraising. The Waverley
Gazette ran an article in 1966 detailing how Babirra raised more than
$25,000 for charity with audiences exceeding 50,000. All other costs
of the venture (from costumes to lighting and transport) were borne by
the members of Babirra.
From Babirra's first show, Trial by Jury, 1956
Whilst
touring the only accompaniment possible was the piano. Scenery and
lights were transported to the venue the night before a performance by
car and trailer to be set up. The
basics that were used in these touring shows included a double-sided
scenic painted backdrop (consisting of two Army tent flies sewn
together) which was hung by a "hook and eye" arrangement,
from a wooden boom attached to the wall easily reversed at interval.
Two sets of freestanding "flats" painted similarly were
used, jammed in heavy steel footplates.
The
lighting equipment however basic included filtered footlights and
matching overhead lights from either side of stage. The switchboard
needed to operate the lights was so heavy that it took two people to
move it.
Babirra
continued touring until 1973 when actors commitments didn't allow for
a full year's commitment. A decision was made to perform two shows a
year from a fixed venue. The venue decided upon was at the Chadstone
Shopping Centre which had an adequate auditorium with a good seating
capacity and car parking facilities.
HMS Pinafore, 1957
In
1975 Babirra moved to the Alexander Theatre at Monash University,
where an orchestra and the use of far more advanced scenery was
introduced. Performances continued at the Alexander until steeply
rising costs and uncertainty of dates caused the move to our current
location at The Whitehorse Centre.
In
later years the market for G&S operettas became saturated so other
operettas were gradually introduced.
A
few of the more recent Operettas already performed are The Merry
Widow, Die Fledermaus, Desert Song, Whitehorse Inn, Rose Marie, New
Moon and Maid of the Mountians. Babirra then went to some
modern productions which included dance and movement shows such as
Camelot, Kiss Me Kate, Kismet and Les Miserables.
