Past shows Slingsby's Man Covets Bird
Slingsby is an award-winning theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 2007 by Artistic Director, Andy Packer, Slingsby crafts original, emotionally complex, tour-ready productions designed to be enjoyed by adults and children aged 10 and up. Slingsby’s productions are are created for young people aged 10 to 14 years because we believe that at this stage in their lives they are beginning to grapple with the issues that they and we all grapple with for the rest of our lives: am I liked? will I be successful? do I like myself? With this in mind, Slingsby creates theatrical experiences that acknowledge the pain that is often a feature of human experience but that ultimately remind ‘the adult in all of us’ of the potential joy, infinite possibility and wonder of the universe.
Slingsby's productions are conceived by Andy Packer and then developed in partnership artists from a range of artistic disciplines including key creative collaborators Quentin Grant (composer) and Geoff Cobham (designer). Playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer was commissioned by Slingsby to write the company's first three productions: The Tragical Life Of Cheeseboy, Wolf and Man Covets Bird.
The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy, Slingsby's internationally acclaimed inaugural production, premiered in January 2008 at a sold-out week long season at the Adelaide Festival Centre. The production then enjoyed a sold-out season at the ASSITEJ 2008 World Congress and Performing Arts Festival in Adelaide in May 2008 followed by a five-week tour of regional and metropolitan South Australia in June-July 2008. From January to June 2009, Cheeseboy went on a "world tour" with 61 performances across ten seasons in nine cities on five continents. The world tour began with a season in the 2009 Sydney Festival, followed by seasons in IPAY Showcase 2009 in Cleveland Ohio; Children First Festival in Singapore; Festival Teatralia in Madrid, Spain (two venues); at The Egg at Theatre Royal Bath, UK; Imaginate Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland; performances in Glasgow (two venues) and Hamilton, Scotland, for the Imaginate On Tour program and in June 2009 concluded with a season in the Sydney Opera House. In May 2009, Slingsby premiered its second production, Wolf, in Mount Gambier and then undertook a five-week tour of 10 regional South Australian towns plus a one-week season in Adelaide in collaboration with the Come Our Festival and Country Arts SA.
In 2010, The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy has invited seasons in the Perth International Arts Festival (where the Festival's Children's Jury awarded the production a number of awards), the New Zealand International Arts Festival, and the Arts Centre Melbourne, and in 2011 undertakes an extensive tour of North America.
In March 2010. Man Covets Bird, Slingsby's third production, premiered at The Space Theatre for the 2010 Adelaide Festival and the Adelaide Festival Centre's InSpace program. The production received outstanding reviews and looks set to tour in 2011.
In the three years since Slingsby was founded, the company has staged 120 performances of Cheeseboy in 29 venues in 16 cities on 5 continents, 29 performances of Wolf in 11 South Australian venues and 9 performances plus 7 previews of Man Covets Bird in Adelaide.
In September 2009, Slingsby won a Ruby Award, South Australia's arts and cultural award, for Leadership in Arts Enterprise for the 2009 world tour of The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy.
Slingsby is led by Andy Packer (Artistic Director), Jodi Glass (Executive Producer), and Lisa Hill (Production Manager) and Board of Directors Nigel Smart (Chairman), Didier Elzinga, Emma Lawson, Tony Mack and Michael Tellis.
Slingsby is supported by the Government of South Australia through Arts SA, the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body, Country Arts SA, BHP Billiton Youth Arts Fund through Carclew Youth Arts Centre, and Griffin Hilditch Lawyers.
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