Full Circle Theatre Company launches as Adelaide's first professional musical theatre troupe

It may seem odd, considering the number of musicals that play in Adelaide, but according to the newest troupe in town, the city's never had its own professional company dedicated to the genre. Until now.

Full Circle Theatre Company launched last night at Immersive Light and Art, on Light Square, announcing it would produce its first show Catch Me If You Can at Futures Theatre in November.

Led by artistic director Jo Casson, she says Full Circle is Adelaide's first professional musical theatre company.

"We have so much talent in South Australia that it's a bit outrageous," she told 891 ABC Adelaide.

"For professional artists to work they so often have to move to the eastern states, so it will be amazing to have some opportunities for those professional artists to work in their hometown."

Adelaide has a long list of amateur and semi-professional musical theatre groups creating both well-known and original shows, but they often operate on very tight budgets and casts and crews have day jobs.

Full Circle Theatre Company is supported by patron Pamela Wall AO, a well known philanthropist in Adelaide and former nurse and businesswoman.

Casson wants to give more Adelaide artists opportunity to work professionally at home without having to travel to Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane.

"We've got some incredible amateur theatre companies and some fabulous youth companies in Adelaide and then, at the other end of the spectrum, is the fabulous, national touring shows that come to Adelaide," she said.

"There has never been something in the middle so we kind of sit in a niche market where we're a local professional, not-for-profit company."

Working to catch recognition

She said Full Circle would spend its first 18 months producing three existing works that people "recognised".

Catch Me If You Can is based on the 2002 Hollywood film of the same name starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.

It debuted on Broadway in 2011 with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Casson said achieving recognition for Full Circle through existing works would enable it to support a wider range of material.

"Getting a new work published, and seen, is a genuine challenge anywhere in the world," she said.

"I just directed Amity Dry's musical The Perfect Life which is actually an incredible, unknown show by a South Australian composer.

"That's a pretty tough sell in South Australia.

"But we're trying to support all of that as well and definitely looking to find ways to build exposure for local writers."

Ambassadors onboard

Full Circle also has three official ambassadors to help promote its goals.

They include writer, critic, theatre director and radio presenter Peter Goers; vocalist and arts advocate Libby O'Donovan; and leading performer and educator Rachael Beck, with more likely to be announced soon.

"The idea of the ambassador program is to connect with renowned local and national industry people who can support us," Casson said.

"It's third-party endorsement, right? So if someone like Peter Goers thinks we're okay, then, you know, we might be okay."

Mr Goers said he admired Casson as the "most brilliant director/producer of musical theatre in Adelaide in my long experience".

Patron Dr Pamela Wall said she adored musical theatre.

"Jo and her team are doing such a wonderful thing for our talented young artists, but I particularly like their commitment to present musical theatre to new audiences who might not have experienced the spectacle before," she said.

Growing local audiences

Casson said musical theatre in SA drew just 9 per cent of the state's overall live entertainment audiences compared to up to 17pc in other states.

She said the city could often be skipped by bigger national touring productions.

Casson wanted to grow Adelaide's musical theatre audience and to forge partnerships with community groups, businesses and educational institutions to make major works more accessible.

"We're trying to create professional theatre that is also affordable," she said.