Slingsby Theatre Company Bows Out with Final Masterpiece After Funding Loss
After two decades of enchanting audiences worldwide, Adelaide's celebrated Slingsby Theatre Company prepares for its final performance. The company, known for its immersive productions that blend magic with mature themes, will conclude its journey with A Concise Compendium of Wonder – a trilogy of fairytale adaptations presented in a specially constructed traveling theatre.
A Purpose-Built Theatre for a Final Farewell
Nestled within the Adelaide Botanic Gardens stands the "Wandering Hall of Possibility," a circular wooden structure designed to host just 110 spectators. This intimate venue serves as both theatre and set for Slingsby's swan song production. Artistic director Andy Packer describes the company's approach as investing "everything we had in the bank" into this final endeavor.
The trilogy features adaptations of stories from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Oscar Wilde, spanning timelines from medieval Europe to a moon colony in the year 3099. Three actors guide audiences through these interconnected narratives, with the theatre itself transforming between performances.
Two Decades of Magical Storytelling
Since its founding in 2007, Slingsby has specialized in productions that "speak to the future adult in the eight-year-old, and the child that still exists in the 80-year-old," according to Packer. The company has built its reputation on:
- Immersive theatrical experiences in unconventional spaces
- Fairytale adaptations addressing complex themes like grief and loneliness
- International tours across four continents
- Treating young audiences as mature collaborators in storytelling
The New York Times once characterized their work as "bleakly whimsical," capturing their unique balance of darkness and optimism.
The Funding Crisis Behind the Final Curtain
The decision to close wasn't part of the original plan. In 2023, Slingsby received its third consecutive rejection for multi-year funding from Creative Australia. While maintaining state funding, the company hasn't held federal multi-year support since 2016.
"We realized we'd come to the end of that," Packer explains, referring to a decade of entrepreneurial efforts to achieve sustainability. He advocates for increased government arts funding while urging artists to consider their personal investments in unpaid and underpaid creative work.
"Artists and companies have a responsibility to go, 'Am I just in a hamster wheel here?'" Packer reflects. Without financial capacity for future creative risks, the company chose to "go out in a beautiful fashion."
Addressing Contemporary Concerns Through Fairytales
A Concise Compendium of Wonder represents a departure from Slingsby's usual process. Instead of playwrights, the company commissioned three prominent Australian authors:
- Jennifer Mills adapted The Childhood of the World, following children navigating famine-stricken woods
- Ursula Dubosarsky created The Giant's Garden, exploring banishment from beloved spaces
- Ceridwen Dovey wrote The Tree of Light, featuring moon colonists facing environmental crisis
The stories emerged from Slingsby's school workshops, where children repeatedly expressed climate anxiety and "a sense of impending doom for the future." Packer emphasizes his intention to "lead the audience back to a sense of hope – hope for themselves and hope for the people that they live amongst and around."
An Environmentally Conscious Finale
True to its themes, the production demonstrates environmental responsibility. The tour will transport sets exclusively by land or sea, avoiding air travel. After Slingsby's final performance, the Wandering Hall of Possibility will be passed to other companies before eventual material recycling.
Packer acknowledges "a sense of sadness that this is the last big journey that we'll take together," but maintains pride in the company's decision. "It didn't have to be this way, but that's where we're at," he states. "That allows us to not be too worried about the future, but instead be very focused on what's happening right here and right now."
The premiere season runs at Adelaide Botanic Gardens through March 15 as part of Adelaide Festival, followed by three weeks in Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsula before additional touring engagements. After twenty years of creating wonder for young audiences and their families, Slingsby Theatre Company takes its final bow with characteristic hope and beauty.
