Woods-Ray Theatricals’ quirky cabaret found success in the Illawarra last month despite the challenges of the cost-of-living crisis in the local arts industry.
Woods-Ray Theatricals presented two sold out shows of ‘Roles We’ll Never Play – A Cabaret’ at the Bulli Senior Citizens Centre on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25.
The show had a simple brief for performers: sing a song sung by a character that you’d never play. The show had a diverse range of songs from classic musicals such as Chicago, Jesus Christ Superstar, Dear Evan Hansen, West Side Story, and Hairspray.
Musical director and producer of the show, Liam Woods said the cabaret was influenced by similar shows internationally.
“As a theatre lover and maker, I am always looking for new and exciting ways to celebrate and enjoy musical theatre,” Mr Woods said.
“I was inspired to produce this by similar cabarets such as the ‘Roles We’ll Never Play’ cabaret series in London, and ‘Miscast’ in New York.”
The cost of living has had devastating impacts on local theatre communities nationally, and a survey conducted by comparison website Finder found that 24% of participating Australians avoided going to the theatre in 2024.
Mr Woods said Woods-Ray Theatricals has felt the effects of Australia’s economic downturn in many ways.
“The cost of labour and equipment hire has risen, as well as the costs of materials for sets and costumes,” Mr Woods said.
“Locals can no longer afford to see every show that is on, and regular patrons who may have come to see a show more than once are thinking more carefully about how they spend their money.”
Mr Woods said the show had promising responses from performers and audience members alike.
“The response just from performers was amazing, and it was lovely to see how performers responded to the theme of the show,” Mr Woods said.
“We also had really positive feedback from our two sold out audiences.”
Participating vocalist Erin Purser said the theme of the show was something that she was familiar with and was keen to be a part of.
“The concept was something I had seen before and it was always super intriguing seeing people who would never get to play these characters in a show, bring them to life,” Ms Purser said.
The theme set out to challenge participants and encourage them to push themselves to grow as performers, and Ms Purser said the experience was only positive.
“I’m glad I got to sing a song I love and put my own twist on it while forcing myself out of my comfort zone,” Ms Purser said.
Woods-Ray Theatricals are already underway with rehearsals for their next production, presenting Cinderella across five performances at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre from Thursday, October 3 to Sunday, October 6, 2024.
