A Massive Thank You,

And Welcome!

 
The FREMANTLE THEATRE COMPANY is entering 2024 with a recommitted purpose and a brand-new Board to focus on a larger calendar of works and new educational & development products whilst continuing to reinforce our commitment to the Fremantle area. 

 

As we embark on a new chapter, the organization offers a fond farewell to the remarkable Board members who have been instrumental in shaping our journey thus far. FTC would like to extend our unending thanks to each of our founding Board members and previous directors, including the generous pillars of the community Michelle Prater, Michela Fini, Lindsay Lovering, Al Donald, John Prevost & Rod Hamersley we express our deep appreciation to Mark Westbrook and Rikki Burns for their invaluable contributions. 
 

This next stage is embraced by the existing FTC board who’ve supported Artistic Director Renato Fabretti’s vision for a new theatre in Fremantle – “This Board has brought an overwhelming wealth of wisdom, insight and positive influence to FTC - making it possible to lay the important foundation stones of this creative endeavour. Each and every one of them has been dearly keen to see this new contribution to the WA performing arts secured, and properly established, as a force for good in the sector – and one that can elevate the tone, create jobs and deliver real opportunities for local performing artists.” 

 

In order to prepare FTC to effectively meet the challenges ahead, the company has considered their needs deeply, and is enacting a strategic re-focus designed to further embrace their commitment as a locally-focused theatre company, with the capacity to do even more for the people of Fremantle and WA. 

 

As step one in our next chapter, to support this new progress, FTC welcomes new Board members: 
 

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• Kim Jameson the former Executive Director Chamber of Arts and Culture WA, former Executive Director ART ON THE MOVE, and current Creative Placemaking and Strategy Manager for Cairns, 
   

• Dr Andrew Lewis professional Director, Actor + most recent WAAPA Head of Acting and Screen Academy.
   

• Donna Hughes an award-winning Playwright + the former Head of Drama at St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls.
   

• Kay Gerard the CEO of the Food, Fibre and Timber Industries Council, Chair of Curtin University’s Molecular Life Sciences Advisory Board, Chair of the Muresk Industry Advisory Board, and; 
   

• Brian Liau respected Commercial Litigator + President of the WA Singapore Business Council. 
   
   

They will join GM Pippa Davis and AD Renato Fabretti in leading the company forward toward a bright future. 
 
One of the most significant achievements of the inaugural Board has been their determination in establishing a new arts organisation amidst the surprise impacts of Covid, seizing on Fabretti’s daring success in staging Kate Walsh in The Other Place by Sharr White, and working to see that success could be built upon, to provide something more sustainable for Fremantle. Their support enabled the return of Shakespeare in the Park which toured Perth and the southern regions, as well as numerous major productions in Fremantle that have drawn a healthy new south-of-the-river audience to adult theatre, for the first time in over two decades. Another highlight has been the company’s role leading to the presentation of the headline-show Mary Stuart, for the Perth Festival. And the company has been hugely successful in warmly inviting new support for the Arts in Western Australia, with the support of outstanding corporate sponsors like the incredible Porsche Perth, Agora, Castelli Estate, Beerfarm, Gallagher Insurance, Schaffer Corporation and the outstanding Hesperia – together with a raft of generous personal donors, to whom we are eternally grateful, these companies have made a huge difference to the well-being of the Arts in WA.
 
In less than three covid-embattled years, it’s no small feat – establishing a keen audience and providing 123 professional jobs for local artists – and it has been a great pleasure to ‘launch’ a new theatre company, in a state that’s lost so many in recent years. 
 
In 2024, with the support of our new Board, you will witness an FTC expanding its efforts to surround its CORE programming & developments with shows umbrellaed by FTC INDIE: a new initiative, which offers support to both quality international acts and outstanding local & independent producers. Simultaneously, FTC is introducing a new pathway for youth & emerging talent within FTC NEW WAVE: which will provide educational opportunities and desperately needed performative outcomes for rising talents.  
 
Both are initiatives that are designed to offer strength and sustainability to the sector, by directly investing in grassroots WA talent and the mid-tier – both key areas of our trade, and vital to industry growth. 

 
FTC has been proud to work closely with local communities, artists, teachers, and arts organisations to ensure that we can each contribute to a flourishing cultural sector in Perth, for which we are a passionate advocate. In 2024 our works lean-in to examine the issues most concerning Freo locals and West Australians, in plays that demand further discourse and thought. 

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Thank you to all who've brought us this far, and a warm Hello to those keen to travel with us!

 

 

 

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