It will be a year of celebration, reflection and anticipation in the performing arts world in 2019, according to entertainment venues manager Peter Ross.
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The year marks the 10th anniversary of the Capitol Theatre, and the arts community will be celebrating the present strength and diversity of the sector.
The milestone will also prompt reflection in 2019 on the groups and people who laid the foundations up until then.
And it will be a year of anticipation, as work continues to investigate and plan the performing arts centre and wider precinct that will be “a game-changer for the city”.
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“The theme is Celebrate! and it’s really all about celebrating 10 years since the Capitol first came on the scene; 10 years of entertainment, as that’s when we really grew the program across the other venues [TRECC and the town hall] as well,” Mr Ross said.
“It’s celebrating local groups, celebrating the potential for a new performing arts centre and precinct, and the game-changer it will be for the city.
“It’s about celebrating the past, the here and now, and the future of the performing arts in Tamworth.”
Consultants are working on the concept design, costings and business case for the centre, which Mr Ross said should yield a report by March or April.
“That’ll be exciting; similar to what they’re doing with the aquatic centre, council will know what it’s going to look like, the potential costs and its return on investment to the community,” he said.
“I’m very excited about the business plan and the vision: a lot of thought has gone into that to make sure it kicks goals culturally and in building social capital, but that there’s also a really strong return economically.”
Mr Ross said Season 2019 had a great mix of local and visiting productions.
Some of the highlights would be Australian-made musical The Sapphires, an immersive adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Young King, Tamworth Musical Society’s Kinky Boots, Rhonda Burchmore in ABBA-solutely Fabulous and The Flying Fruit Fly Circus celebrating 40 years of shows.
There were other “great artists” such as Peter Cousens, Christine Anu and Emma Pask – plus other shows that would crop up as the year unfolded.
“It’s great to hear our subscribers saying there was so much in Season 2019 they’ve picked out eight shows already,” Mr Ross said.
“Nothing makes you feel like a piece of live entertainment.”
