Congratulations on your appointment as artistic director and CEO of La Boite Theatre Company. What was your first reaction to the good news?
Well it was all a bit of a blur really – I had to finish off my Queensland Theatre Company work and start with La Boite directly! I was totally thrilled that I was able to interview for the position and to actually get the job was amazing – it’s a real privilege to be able to lead such an awesome company.

You’ll be guiding the company through its 90th birthday program, what are your goals for the year ahead?
We have an archival project that’s been in development for some time and documents much of the past 90 years but also allows people to add images and stories, recollections and information, so it will continue to grow and very much be an active, ongoing archive. Later in the year, we’re planning a ball to celebrate the exact night the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society (before it became La Boite) began at the end of July 1925. So that’s full steam ahead and looks to be a massive party with as many La Boite alumni gathered as we can muster. It will truly be an unmissable event – watch this space as we launch very soon with tickets to the party and check out the archive in April/May!

What can you tell us about the fascinating history of La Boite?
Ninety years makes us the longest continuously running theatre in Australia, right here in Brisbane. We moved from the iconic Hale Street venue in 2004 into our purpose-built 400-seat in-the-round theatre in Kelvin Grove. For many years, La Boite has led the way not only in Queensland but across Australia in developing and presenting new Australian work.

Many of us remember you from acting roles on television; what was the best advice you received during those early years?
Hit your mark, say the right words … Relax and let the camera do the work.

Was there a particular experience or production that first drew you into acting?
I started acting at school on the Gold Coast and was bitten by the bug. It was a particular teacher, actually, who really pushed me and offered me some incredible opportunities – we did a production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame in Year 12! I played Ham, a blind, wheelchair-bound 60-year-old. Production-wise, I remember seeing Marcel Marceau when I was very young and that never left me.

Now you have many strings to your bow, including directing and producing. Is there one particular area you enjoy the most?
I still love performing to be honest and I think it will always be my first love that informs how and why I produce, program and direct.

You were a co-founder and artistic director of The Store Room Theatre in Melbourne, which is legendary for nurturing the Australian independent theatre scene. What were your original goals for the venture?
I started the space with Ben Harkin in 1999 with the intention to create a rehearsal studio to make works in. It quickly became obvious that at that time in Melbourne there was a real hunger and need for affordable spaces that were run with professional intent and so we rapidly became a space for hire. We then carefully started to curate emerging companies and soon developed a programming approach to nurture companies and individuals who weren’t only emerging but also experimenting with their practice.

The Store Room helped launch the careers of many young talents. What do you believe are the essentials for a good actor?
The age-old adage is ‘resilience and persistence’, but as much as those qualities are essential, the truly brilliant artists I’ve worked with always maintain a vulnerability and deep honesty and openness – to the project, the role, the art form and the world.

What words of wisdom can you offer young locals who dream of working in the industry?
Dream big, don’t wait to be asked, don’t be afraid to ask … Make it mean something to you, or the world – it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s real.

Who are some emerging talents ‘to watch’ in Brisbane?
Julia-Rose Lewis, writer of Samson. Daniel Evans is a keeper! Such a great brain and playfulness – look out for The Seagull at QTC. Eleanor Jackson is resident artist with La Boite and is a special talent also – we have a commission for a new play with her. Also Michelle Law is a cracker, she’s a writer too but performed in Awkward Conversations last year at Metro Arts. As did Merlynn Tong and Emily Curtain, who you may have seen about in various other independent works – both vital and unique performers. Also Benjamin Creek, who’s in Samson … I could go on and on, there are many performers and makers in this town who are really pushing the way forward. Check out our Indie Season coming very soon, as well as the work at Metro Arts, the Greenhouse at QTC, Brisbane Powerhouse and a sneaky eye always on Steven Mitchell Wright and The Danger Ensemble, but also his programming at The Bearded Lady in West End.

Which upcoming La Boite productions are you particularly excited about?
Samson is a beautiful work about young people in regional Australia but it speaks across those simple boundaries to some incredibly powerful and moving reflections on grief and growing up. I’m super excited to be working with Suzie Miller on a new adaptation of Medea with Christen O’Leary (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Helen Christinson (A Doll’s House). This will be the first work I direct for La Boite and it’s such a wonderful cast and writer. After that, I’ll also direct another world premiere of a work by a young Congolese writer named Future Fidel. Prize Fighter is part of the Brisbane Festival and will be an amazing emersion into a refugee story of fleeing the Congo, being enlisted as a child soldier and finally finding freedom and redemption by becoming a boxer and coming to Australia – very physical, very beautiful work!

What do you think the punishment should be for audience members who don’t turn off their phones in a live production?
a) They should have to take the call in front of the whole audience and cast on the stage; or (b) if you don’t want to stop the show, put the spotlight on them; or (c) they have to shout drinks for the cast after the show; or (d) shout drinks for the audience after the show; or (e) both (c) and (d).

You’re also a dad, what’s one of the most important lessons you’ve learnt since you’ve become a parent?
Try to sleep – you’ll need it. Don’t assume you know and don’t freak out if you don’t. Listen. It really does go fast!

Only a local would know … that if the wind is right, you can listen to the concerts from Suncorp Stadium on our back deck.

FAVOURITE SPOT TO:
Perk up … cold-press coffee from Blackstar Coffee in West End.
Relax … Musgrave Park Pool, South Brisbane.
Catch-up … Avid Reader in West End.
Be inspired … on my back deck at sunset (depending on the concert) or Davies Park Market in West End.