20/04/2019
2019 is Wan Smolbag Theatre’s 30thAnniversary. Several of the current actors were not even born when the group started. ‘Maybe it’s because of the anniversary but I find myself sitting in the theatre,’ says director Peter Walker, ‘and boring the youngsters with tales from years gone by. And sometimes just sitting by myself hearing the hundreds of shows that have passed through the theatre.’
The first thirty years at a glance
The early days were spent in a number of different venues; the old cultural centre downtown, the disused crumbling yacht club at Malapoa point, a classroom at USP and for some time the Chiefs Nakamal then under the stewardship of Chief W***y B**gmatur. The Old Stories, a selection of custom stories and early white settlement history was first performed here featuring Timothy Andrew, Nora Yamsui, Alice Bolenga Joe Jeffred B**g, Pierre Licht, Charleon Falau, today a member of the Parole board and still in WSB, and Agnes David. The invading traders were played over the years by Morehu Solomon, Steve Black and Rhys Gwilliam. These early years were fuelled by the excitement of exploring drama but it was touched with tragedy when Pierre Licht died in a car crash in December 1992.
