In March 1938 the Mayor of Ballarat chaired a public meeting at which Ballarat citizens chose to form a branch of the National Theatre movement in this city. We have been making theatre ever since, producing more than 300 shows over 85 years.

We are a not-for-profit incorporated company. This means that all participants of our shows are volunteers and must be current members to take part.

We are renowned for ‘straight’ theatre, in that we do not usually produce musicals. We now produce up to three productions per year. Productions include Shakespeare, radio plays, Australian plays, British and American plays, and original works.

In response to the pandemic, we also began producing free online dramatic audiobooks as podcasts.

Members are able to try out all areas of production from acting, directing and writing to costume, props, sets, lighting and sound. Expressions of interest for involvement in upcoming productions are usually announced on our social media platforms and mailing list.

We have a mixed-age audience attending our productions. Members receive discounted tickets to our performances.