Community
16 July, 2025
Mount Isa’s theatre talent to shine on and off the stage
Five plays, all written and produced locally, will debut on Friday night.
Five locally written plays will take centre stage in the Mount Isa Theatrical Society’s latest production, which opens on Friday night.
Taking inspiration from the well-known Shakespeare quote, which observed that “all the world’s a stage,” the short productions share a common theme about the roles we play during the challenges and decisions that shape our lives.
From the story of a new mum, to multiple generations of a family poring through old cookbooks, to a futuristic performance set in outer space, MITS committee member Jenelle Robartson said each production examined the ebbs and flows of human relationships.
“Each of the plays deals with a different stage of life,” she explained.
“We have tried to find a common theme running through each of the stories and that’s where the theme ‘life’s a stage’ has come from.
“What we are really trying to say is that we each play various roles in our lives, and we deliver monologues and performances in our everyday world.”
Janelle, who also authored one of the featured plays, said there was a call for submissions in February for local playwrights to submit their works.
More than a dozen scripts soon arrived, each about 15-20 minutes in length, which were then read aloud at a gathering of theatre members in April, with feedback listed anonymously on an app.
The MITS committee then shortlisted the five entries that will be performed each night by the 14-strong cast over the next three weeks.
“It is about the fourth time we have called for submissions in recent years, so there were some people involved in the theatre who already knew we would be looking for local writers,” Janelle said.
“And they already had ideas they might have been thinking about. But there are others who just heard about our call for submissions on social media and decided to start writing something from scratch.
“It is very exciting to see your ideas on paper come alive with a cast of actors on the stage.
“We hope people will come along and see it for themselves – we promise you a night of comedy and drama – we will entertain you and feed you and you can buy a drink from our very reasonably priced bar.”
Life’s A Stage: A Collection of Short Plays opens at 7pm on July 18. The performances will run on Friday and Saturday evenings until August 2.
Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at https://events.humanitix.com/life-s-a-stage-or-a-collection-of-short-plays-or-doors-open-at-7pm
FIVE LOCAL PRODUCTIONS
Recipe Book of Memories by Catherine Prowse
All the World’s… by Jenelle Robartson
Pretty Face by Tyne Sacco/Katie McGregor
Cosmic Chaos by Damian Sacco
Lullaby in the Dark by Sarah Woods