On 23 May 1946, nine Williamstown residents met to form the Williamstown Little Theatre Movement. The foresight of these people is this year being marked with a yearlong 60th anniversary celebration. The end of World War II obviously had a huge social and cultural impact on communities and the creation of theatre groups was clearly a direction some of them took.

Through the 50’s and 60’s Williamstown Little Theatre had several homes in Williamstown; from the Mechanic’s Institute to the Town Hall Supper Room and former Missions to Seamen in Nelson Place. In 1968 the company moved into its current venue a converted bakery on Albert Street.

Williamstown Little Theatre is one of Melbourne’s oldest established non-professional theatre companies. The theatre enjoys an enviable reputation for its high standards in terms of production qualities and performance excellence. Audiences, actors, directors and backstage crew come from all over Melbourne to participate in a scheduled five productions each year.

The theatre is strongly supported with more than 80% of patrons being subscribers and mainly residing locally. Most of their 15 performance productions are sold out emphasising the ‘little’ in the theatre’s name where the auditorium seats a cosy 69 people!

Success for the theatre can be attributed to a dedicated group of volunteers, some of whom have been members for many years, even including several foundation members. The rich heritage of 60 years of theatre making underpins all that takes place at the theatre.

Celebrating 60 Years

With a commitment to present five productions across the theatre year our anniversary celebrations have been geared to minimising any impacts on delivering our usual standard of theatre.

A specific planning group was formed during 2005 to work on anniversary celebrations avoiding over-taxing the regular committee of management. The anniversary is being recognised in various ways throughout the year. Firstly, accompanying each of our five productions will be important foyer installations highlighting an aspect of the theatre’s operation. The first of these focussed on Sound and Lighting and was in place throughout the run of our opening production; A Happy and Holy Occasion from 16 February to 4 March. Other installations will include Sets, Posters, Costumes, Portraits & Cast shots.

The highlight of our celebrations will be two key events. The first of these; Celebrate 60 Years, was conducted at the theatre on Sunday 5th March. The second will be a black tie Gala Evening at the Mechanics Institute, Electra Street, Williamstown on Saturday 21st October. The Mechanics Institute was one of the theatre’s early homes before the establishment of the current venue, a converted bakery in Albert Street, Williamstown. The gala evening will be an opportunity to showcase the musical heritage of Williamstown Little Theatre. Details of this event will be published in coming months.

Celebrate 60 Years - Sunday 5 March 2006

This event saw around 150 past and present members come together for an amazing day and evening remembering and celebrating the past 60 years, focussing on people and performance.

Formalities commenced with the unveiling of a very contemporary etched glass honour board identifying all performance award winners over the 60 years. Other activities included a salute to the theatre’s 32 Life Members, including some who are sadly no longer with us. There was a special recognition of a range of people who over the years have contributed greatly but never been publicly recognised. These we identified as our Unsung Heroes. Some 23 former directors of some of many productions staged over the 60 years then participated in a forum that was entertaining and amusing with the insight it provided. Entertainment for the day concluded with 60 Years in 60 Minutes an amazing tribute to our six decades. With inspired writing 5 actors managed to incorporate the title of each and every one of the 270 productions involved. Set to a whole range of popular music, from the given eras, this jaunty escapade saw a talented cast sing, dance and talk their way through their material. Dinner and much socialising followed this wonderful record of the history of the theatre.