SWING IN TO THE SUNSHINE CLUB AT DRTCC
A compelling story of humanity, home and despair through music, The Sunshine Club will be brought to the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre by HIT Productions this August.
With Wesley Enoch at the helm and John Rodgers providing the music, the national tour will build on HIT’s work with First Nation creatives and artists following success of The Sapphires which came to Dubbo in 2019.
“I initially wrote this as a way of bringing people together, especially in the reconciliation movement, this notion of black and white dancing together and the stories of our history, especially post World War II.
“Now in this post or living with COVID world, it’ll be even more important to see that cultural bonds can be formed by gathering as groups and dealing with social issues together,” Wesley Enoch AM said.
Set in a dance club in Brisbane in the 1940s and with an underpinning theme of life affirmation, the play revolves around Aboriginal serviceman Frank Doyle, who came home from war to find that although the wider world may have changed, attitudes back home hadn’t.
Fueled by a passion to create a better life Frank opens The Sunshine Club, a place for black and white people to socialise and dance. It is here that Frank dreams of a bright future with the white girl next door, Rose.
Manager of Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre Linda Christof believes this musical will have broad appeal with its topical and relevant theme, a live band playing jazz, popular dance music of the time, clever set design and fabulous frocks.
“It’s a huge cast with a live band and we are grateful to our theatre sponsors MAAS and Dubbo Dental for their generous support to enable us to bring high calibre productions like this to our region,” Ms Christof said.
Variety magazine has described the show as “humorous, thought-provoking and realistic… The Sunshine Club explores Australia’s sometimes shameful past relations with its Indigenous people by revealing the little-known existence of mixed-race dance clubs that sprung up around the nation post WWII.”
The show will feature an energetic five-piece band and includes more than 20 original songs.
The Sunshine Club will perform for one night only on Thursday 24 August 7.30 pm, secure your tickets by booking on-line at drtcc.com.au, by visiting the Box Office or calling (02) 6801 4378.
Last Edited: 25 Jul 2023