La Boite Season 2023 Launch

La Boite Theatre Chair, Mr Adam Brunes and members of the Board; Artistic Director and CEO, Ms Courtney Stewart; Executive Director, Ms Roxanne Eden; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you, Aunty Leonie Coghill for welcoming us to Country this evening. I would also like to begin by acknowledging the original custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. I extend that respect to all First Nations people here tonight.

I couldn’t be more excited to join you here for the Launch of La Boite Theatre’s 2023 Season.

As you may know, I am an avid supporter of the Arts in Queensland, both in my role as Governor and as a private citizen.

I was fortunate enough to attend La Boite’s opening night of the stage-adaptation of Tiddas in September last year as part of the Brisbane Festival.

Tiddas, in essence a celebration of Brisbane, written by proud Wiradjuri woman Dr Anita Heiss AM, may not have come about were it not for La Boite’s Artist-in-Residence program.

Which goes to show the crucial role an organisation such as yours plays in ensuring that alongside the best from interstate and abroad, and those classics from the distant past, our own stories are nurtured, and performed and cherished by local audiences.

Each year, major events such as the Brisbane Festival remind us of the diversity and quality of the Arts here in Queensland.

We’re so blessed to have such a vibrant cultural scene, with offerings ranging from theatre, ballet and opera to live music, including classical and jazz and contemporary, and the visual arts.

Meanwhile, people are lining up out the door to see many of the big productions coming through town, a sign of the healthy appetite for live theatre in this state.

And then we have this very special playhouse, La Boite, which I consider to be synonymous with Brisbane cultural life after almost a century of use as a centre for artistic performance, teaching and learning.

Your bold offerings for the coming season broach some very serious topics and could not come at a more important time for younger audiences, in particular.

I commend you for this, as it demonstrates the role theatre plays not just in entertaining audiences but in empowering them.

Important information, experience and perspective can get lost when young people turn to the internet for ideas on how to live their lives.

When I have time, I love nothing better than to attend the theatre, or the ballet, opera, jazz and classical performances, you name it.

I will endeavour to visit your wonderful Roundhouse Theatre again soon, perhaps as an audience member.

In the meantime, I wish you all the very best for the coming season. Thank you.