Babette Stephens had never contemplated producing a mainhouse play in one of the three cottages that Brisbane Repertory owned. However, all that changed when Repertory member Rikki Burke conducted an experiment in the Hale Street rehearsal cottage.
She directed a workshop production in ‘the round’ of Moon on the Hill [playwright unknown] with actors Jennifer Blocksidge, Barry Otto, Hazel Howson and Edward Thompson. It was a success. In her 1965 Report, Stephens commented: “This [experiment] was so successful that it is to be hoped that many more such nights may be made possible. This rehearsal room lends itself extremely well to this kind of production”. These were revealing and fateful words, but it would take two more years before anyone would think of using Repertory’s properties for anything apart from workshop productions, club rooms, rehearsal spaces, storage and production needs.
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