In 1972 M*A*S*H began airing on TV, Gough Whitlam was the prime minister of Australia, John Farnham was the king of pop and the Rockingham Theatre Company was formed. The theatre will raise the curtain and celebrate its milestone 50th season on June 1 with an open day extravaganza after the COVID pandemic cruelled two seasons. Sue Walker, wife of president Robert Walker, has been involved in the theatre on and off for 30 years and has seen many changes in that time.
“Technology is the biggest one,” she said. “Now we have this projector that you can put backdrops on and the way that you do set design. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
“The music side of it has changed; we used to have a live band, it’s a shame in a way that we lost that. “We have speakers, microphones from the ceiling and we can have microphones on us where before you had to project your voice.” In 50 years, the volunteer-run theatre has seen grandparents make way on stage for grandchildren, romances have bloomed and lifelong friendships formed.
It is something Mrs Walker said could not have happened without the driving force of Eileen Frith. Shows were originally put on in the Rockingham High School gym but the theatre relocated to McLarty Hall in Shoalwater in the mid-80s. Ms Frith produced many musicals at McLarty Hall but soon decided the theatre needed something more fit for purpose.
Thanks to her campaigning, a mix of fundraising, grants a.
