In Defence of Theatre Restaurant

By Judith Prior
Contact: jprior@interworx.com.au

2 June 1998

 

If some aging author or starving student, suffering somewhere in a cold damp cellar comes up with a deep and
meaningful contemporary drama, manages to have it performed to empty houses, has the script slammed by
critics and shunned by audiences, he/she is acclaimed by his/her peers to be a genius. 

But let an Amateur company or writer produce a locally written comedy or review that is energetically
entertaining, fabulously funny, containing scintillating singing, innovative choreography, spectacular staging and
horror of horror attracts full houses and makes money; the show is deemed by "The people who know," to be
"Just a piece of local rubbish."

I receive letters daily from all over Australia giving me glowing accounts of how successful and how much fun the
cast and audiences had with their latest Theatre Restaurant or Cabaret Theatre production. Reports come in
from groups, whose membership had been flagging, of new talent being discovered, new members obtained
and even worse that, these groups are actually making money! 

New members gain valuable stage experience and confidence in the less formal training ground of Dinner
Theatre, Cabaret or Theatre Restaurant. Newly forming groups without permanent venues are able to perform in
a club or hall and produce very inexpensively, a show that may net them several thousand dollars. A lot of this
revenue can then be channelled into larger and more ambitious pieces of Theatre. 

I started writing Theatre Restaurant scripts about ten years ago. Ten of my scripts, are now published in USA,
Canada, UK and Australia. To date there have been over six hundred performances of my scripts here in
Australia and at present there are twenty amateur companies actually rehearsing these "Pieces of local rubbish
," from Adelaide to Ayr, Penrith to Mt Perry. So far I have not seen any of these productions promoted in
"What's On" in any Theatrical magazines Neither are they included in audition notices or reviews. Why not? I'm
sure the editors of these magazines would be happy to include these shows if the information were available. I'd
be very interested to find out just why clubs don't promote them. 

If you have any information on this matter you can write to me direct at:

6 Ryan Street
Bundaberg Qld 4670

or visit my web site and leave a message in the guest book. 

http://www.bundabergonthe.net/jprior