Theatre show hire in Australia: the complete guide

A theatre show is a finished piece of work that travels. Somebody wrote it, rehearsed it, built the set and the costumes and worked out the lighting, and what you are booking is a performance of that thing rather than an entertainer who will fit around your evening. The running time is fixed, the technical needs are written down, and the show starts when the room is ready for it.

The productions listed here are based mainly in Sydney and Melbourne with a few elsewhere. Prices come live from the listings below and very few publish one, because almost every show is quoted against a venue and a date. The most useful thing you can do is send the show your space, your date and what the room can do technically.

Schools and festivals are the biggest buyers, usually of shows built for an audience of a certain age with a curriculum or a theme behind them. Then come community venues, libraries, councils and arts programs, corporate events wanting something with more substance than a spot act, and private hirers putting on an evening for an invited audience.

The brief differs sharply between those. A school wants a running time that fits a period, a subject that supports what is being taught, and a company used to a hall full of children. A corporate audience wants something sharp and self-contained that does not need an interval. Say which you are in your first message, because it determines whether the show is even the right one.

Ask for the running time, whether there is an interval and how long it is. A show is written to a length and does not stretch or shrink to fill a gap in your programme. If you need something shorter, ask whether an abridged version exists rather than assuming one can be cut, because cutting a piece properly is rehearsal work, not a decision made on the day.

Then build your schedule outwards from that number. Audience in and settled, the show, the interval if there is one, and the audience out. Add the pre-show and the pack-down at either end and you will usually find the company needs your venue for considerably longer than the show itself runs.

The get-in is the load-in and setup: the set, the lighting, the sound, the props and a technical run. It can be an hour for a two-hander with a suitcase of props, or most of a day for a show with a built set. The bump-out afterwards is faster but not instant, and it usually happens while your audience is still leaving the building.

Access decides whether any of that is possible. Where the van can park, what the distance to the door is, whether a step or a lift or a loading dock sits in the way, and whether any doorway is narrower than the set. Send photographs and measurements when you enquire. A company that knows the route in advance brings the right version of the show, and companies who tour constantly have one that fits almost anything.

Most touring shows have a technical rider: a written list of what they need from the venue in lighting, sound, power, staging area, blackout and crew. Ask for it before you commit, and then go through it with whoever actually runs your space. This is the document that turns a booking from an intention into a plan.

Be honest about what your venue cannot do. A school hall with no blackout, no lighting bar and windows down one side is a real constraint, and most touring companies have worked in exactly that and will adapt if they know. What they cannot do is arrive expecting a dimmer rack and find a light switch. Tell them the truth and you get a show that works in your room.

Performer numbers, running time and technical scale are the obvious drivers. The one people underestimate is distance, because a show is a group of people, a vehicle and a set travelling together, and a regional date can mean accommodation and two days of travel for one performance. Multiple performances on the same day in the same venue are usually far better value than two separate bookings.

So if you are a school or a festival, ask whether the company is touring your region and when. Sitting your date inside an existing run changes the economics completely. Ask too whether they will do a workshop alongside the show, since many companies offer one and it is often the part audiences remember.

What is the running time and is there an interval? How long is the get-in and the bump-out, and what access do you need? Can we see the technical rider? How many people are in the touring party? And what does the quote include in travel, accommodation and crew?

Ask for a full performance recording if one exists, or a substantial extract. A trailer is made to sell and tells you very little about whether a show holds an audience for its whole length, which is the only thing you actually need to know.