Gong for theatre company, and more to come
Finalist in four of the eight categories, up against all the heavyweights, it was Margaret River’s own Noble Rot Theatre Company that walked away with an award at the Culture and Arts department’s awards.
The only theatre company to receive an award in a field covering all the arts, Noble Rot had already been hailed by the government as a highlight of its Innovation Programme earlier this year.
“With so much of the government grant going to same people, you
have to go out and woo private sponsors and seduce audiences, take theatre
back where it belongs - to the people, to the community,” said
David George, Noble Rot’s Artistic Director.
Noble Rot’s sponsors, Voyager Estate, are so pleased with their award
and their investment, they’re hosting a second Vintage Stomp and underwriting
a second season of dinner theatre for next May.
Other wineries such as Moss Brothers are commissioning new work.
“They put up the money but, if we have the same success as this year, they’ll make it back and even a profit, not to mention the excellent publicity,” said David George.
“Our region seethes with creative talent, and it’s not just in the arts themselves, it’s in the restaurants, the boardrooms too: imaginative people with vision. That’s who this award was for and what it recognises.”
Following the development of a creative partnership between Voyager Estate and the new professional theatre company, a community-based Vintage Festival was organised in the
grounds of Voyager Estate in May.
As an extension of the partnership, Voyager Estate also hosted Noble Rot’s debut
season of Don Juan, the “deliciously wicked” comedy by the great French dramatist, Molière, accompanied by a sumptuous three course dinner with outstanding wines in Voyager Estate’s restaurant.
Both exceeded expectations. Don Juan sold out its entire season; Stomp attracted over 3000 visitors who were entertained by circus performers, dancers, actors, minstrels, celebrity wine-stomping competitions and more.
Noble Rot is the creation of actress Helen Trenos and writer-director David George. In an unusual move, they established it in spite of the lack of a traditional theatre building in Margaret River because they could see the theatrical potential in dozens of nontraditional
venues across the region.
Voyager Estate’s lavish dining room and splendid Cape Dutch grounds lent themselves
beautifully to Don Juan and the Festival. As Helen and David say, “Audiences are there and it’s time the theatre accepted the challenge to go out and seduce them.”
Helen is currently doing research for a PH.D at UWA on “Creativity and the Actor:” she quotes Richard Florida’s bestseller, The Rise of the Creative Class, in which he argues that harnessing creativity can enrich a society by boosting its economy. For Florida and many others, creativity has become the key to business survival.
This concept of a “Creative Class” and of collaboration between industry and creative artists as the key to the future has been making waves in Margaret River.
In an increasingly competitive environment (Margaret River now has more than 70 winery cellar doors), Voyager Estate’s partnership with Noble Rot Theatre Company is a mutually beneficial deal.
The winery broadens its cultural offerings, furthers its image as a promoter of the arts, and opens its premises to a wider public; the theatre company gets financial support, a
sophisticated audience, and a fabulous theatre space.
The synergies between business and creative endeavours are brought to the
fore as both partners strive to fulfil their own visions and add a new dimension to the cultural fabric of the region.
“It was a calculated gamble,” says David George: “It paid off: there is an audience for this kind of stylish theatre and in Voyager Estate we found managers with the far-sightedness, the vision and the courage to take the risk.”