Over the decades, La Boite has had several name changes. Originally known as ‘Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society’, it dropped ‘Society’ in 1945 to become ‘Brisbane Repertory Theatre’. With the opening of its first theatre-in-the-round in 1967, it often referred to itself as ‘Brisbane Repertory’s La Boîte Theatre’. La Boîte is French for 'the box', an apt name for the first little La Boîte Theatre and its box-like performance space in the converted cottage. In 1977 it began marketing itself as ‘La Boîte’ although it remained, legally, Brisbane Repertory Theatre. Between 1993 and 2003 its official title was ‘La Boite Theatre’. On its move to Kelvin Grove in 2004, it became ‘La Boite Theatre Company’. Although the original French spelling – La Boîte – was used for almost fifteen years, La Boite without the umlaut has been consistently used by the Company since the early 1980s.
The symbols have changed too, from the Greek-like figures and theatre masks that decorated programs off and on for the first four decades, to the iconic circle symbol, to today's intertwined letters L and B.
Writer: Christine Comans
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