The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It was established as the official state theatre company by the State Theatre Company of South Australia Act 1972, on the initiative of Premier Don Dunstan.
The South Australian Theatre Company (SATC) was established in 1965 under the artistic direction of John Tasker. Tasker directed 10 plays before clashing with the board and leaving in 1967.[1] Actor Leslie Dayman took over from Tasker and Peter Batey followed Dayman.[citation needed]
The date of establishment as the state theatre company dates from the State Theatre Company of South Australia Act of 1972,[2][3] an initiative of then Premier Dunstan. The name of the company was changed to its current name in 1978[Note 1] as a reflection of this act.[4] The director of the company in its inaugural year was George Ogilvie.[5]
In 1974, the SATC became the inaugural resident theatre company of the Adelaide Festival Centre, performing mostly in The Playhouse (later The Dunstan Playhouse and still the company's primary venue), and was the first state theatre company in Australia to hold its entire operations in one purpose-made building.[5]
In 1977, Magpie Theatre was established as a theatre in education (TIE) branch of STCSA, for young people. After 20 years and numerous productions,[6] it was terminated in 1997, partially due to loss of funding after reconstruction of Arts SA.[5]
The company was subtitled Australian Playhouse from 1996 to 1997 during the tenure of Chris Westwood, the company's first female executive producer, appointed in 1993.[7] She aimed at presenting only Australian works until the end of the century; however, she resigned at the end of 1997.[5]
From 2019 the company was branded "State Theatre Company South Australia",[9] but official reports still refers to the legal name of "State Theatre Company of South Australia".[10] In the same year, Mitchell Butel was appointed artistic director of the company.[11]
In August 2024, Butel announced that he would be leaving STCSA to take up the role of artistic director of Sydney Theatre Company.[12] In November 20240, it was announced that Petra Kalive had been appointed as the new artistic director, as well as co-CEO, joining executive director Julian Hobba in the CEO role. Kalive was formerly associate director at Melbourne Theatre Company and artistic director of the University of Melbourne's Union House Theatre, and has also held leadership roles at Melbourne Playback Theatre and La Mama.[13][14][15]
The company supports new work through its annual Flinders University Young Playwrights' Awards for writers under 25, offering dramaturgy and a professional reading to the winning scripts in junior (13–17) and senior (18–25) sections.[18]
^Although as of 2 August 2019, the About page, History section, cites 1980 as the date of the name change, quoting a 2004 work, the State Library of South Australia catalogue shows several works attributed to the STCSA name from 1978, and notes here that the entity "appears to be operating under State Theatre Company name from August 1978".
Ward, Peter (1992). A singular act : twenty five years of the State Theatre Company of South Australia. Adelaide : State Theatre : Wakefield Press. ISBN1-862-54273-2.
