Barking Gecko Theatre Company

Barking Gecko Theatre

Barking Gecko Theatre is a Western Australian professional theatre company.

Established in Perth in 1989,^[1] Barking Gecko Theatre is Western Australia's longest running professional theatre company dedicated to inspiring children and families to embrace a life full of curiosity, empathy and play. Barking Gecko Theatre's mission is to give children transformational experiences through exquisitely crafted story-telling and performance. Barking Gecko has delivered over 100 original Western Australian productions, toured 12 countries and reached almost 1 million children.

Alongside Barking Gecko's theatre productions is the company's commitment to creative learning and social outreach. Barking Gecko delivers drama programs for children aged 4 – 18 across Perth, regional and remote WA every year.

Barking Gecko Theatre is a resident company at the State Theatre Centre of WA. Typical performances take place in the Heath Ledger Theatre and Studio Underground at the State Theatre Centre of WA, as well as school classrooms, halls, site-specific non-theatre venues and outdoor locations, as well as traditional theatre venues when touring.

Barking Gecko Theatre is a not-for-profit company governed by a Board of Directors. Receiving federal and state government arts funding, as well as corporate sponsorship and ticket revenue, the company has an annual turnover of more than $1.2 million and employs more than 60 primarily Western Australian artists each year. It operates in a fully professional capacity, under the Certified Performers Agreement with the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Equity), which means that its actors and production team are paid award rates (as opposed to community/volunteer theatre).

Primarily servicing the Perth metropolitan region, the company covers the entire state of Western Australia, and frequently tours to all other Australian states and capital cities. Barking Gecko has toured throughout Canada and the United States, and to Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico.

Artistic Directors

2015 – Present Matt Edgerton

2010 – 2014 John Sheedy

2006 – 2010 Jeremy Rice

1989 – 2006 Grahame Gavin

1985 – 1989 John Saunders (Acting Out)

Awards

References