Past shows Slingsby's Man Covets Bird, Slingsby's Wolf
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.
Slingsby's award winning inaugural production, The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy, premiered in the Adelaide Festival Centre in January 2008. It has since performed in 26 venues in 13 cities on 5 continents. Seasons include Sydney Festival, Children First Festival in Singapore, Festival Teatralia in Madrid, Imaginate Festival in Edinburgh, The Egg at Theatre Royal Bath, Sydney Opera House, ASSITEJ 2008 World Congress and Performing Arts Festival in Adelaide, and a five-week tour of regional and metropolitan South Australia.
In 2010, The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy had 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 undertook an extensive tour of North America (including a two week season at the New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street in New York City).
Wolf, the company's second production was largely developed and subsequently premiered in Mount Gambier in regional South Australian. Wolf premiered in May 2009 in Mount Gambier's Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre after which the production toured for three weeks to 10 regional South Australian towns and performed a week-long season in the 2009 Come Out Festival for young audiences.
Man Covets Bird, Slingsby's third production takes its inspiration from a sketch from American artist and musician John Lurie and the art of Australian industrial photographer Wolfgang Sievers. The production incorporates animation, live music and beautiful prose to tell a tale that blends equal measures of melancholia and sunshine. Man Covets Bird premiered in March 2010 for the 2010 Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Festival Centre's InSpace program, receiving unanimous critical and audience acclaim and winning a variety of awards.
Slingsby has won two Ruby Awards, South Australia's arts and cultural award;
In 2009 for Leadership in Arts Enterprise for the 2009 world tour of The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy.
In 2010 for Best Work for Man Covets Bird
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, and Griffins Lawyers.
PO Box 8034 Station Arcade Adelaide 5000 Phone: 08 8231 3007 Fax: 08 8231 1730
