Ballarat National Theatre

Making theatre for our community since 1938

Upcoming productions

The Dog Logs

April 10-19

From a tough Rottweiler with neighbour problems, to a prima donna toy poodle who wants attention, The Dog Logs by C. J. Johnson is a collection of hilarious and heart-breaking monologues examines the lives of dogs from every breed, age, and situation.

Telling stories of friendship, romance, and revenge, The Dog Logs is a refreshing take on canine life that is touching and surprisingly human.

Directed by Gin O'Brien

God of Carnage

July 23-26

After the event of school yard bullying, four parents differing views may have just created cause for another round; adults edition.

With polite niceties wearing thin, the audience watches four very different people try to resolve a playground incident, convincing each other that it was not the fault of their own son, rather that of the other. With accusations being hurled around the room, the argument heats up even further when evaluating matters of racism, sexism and homophobia. By evening's end, the gloves are well and truly off, with the adults behaving in a manner that is eerily similar to that which occurred on the playground.

Directed by Ruby Abbott

You Can't Tell Anyone

August 20-23

I won't tell, if you won't.

It’s the end of school and Gwen is throwing a party. After an emotional year, her friends are keen to spend the night drinking, playing games, and arguing about literally everything. But when a party game spirals out of control, long-held tensions start to strain and snap. Are the friends messing with each other? Or is there a bigger threat pounding at the door?

Directed by Ruby Abbott

Dead Man's Cell Phone

Oct 23 - Nov 1

Dead Man's Cell Phone is a surrealist play by Sarah Ruhl about a woman named Jean who answers the ringing cell phone of a man who has just died at a cafe. She becomes entangled in his life, meeting his family and mistress, and in the process, begins to live her own life more fully. The play explores themes of life, death, connection, and the afterlife in a quirky and often fantastical way. It is the journey of a woman forced to confront her presumptions about morality, redemption, and isolation in a technology obsessed society.

Directed by Benj Beatty

BNT History Project

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Acknowledgement of Country

We are located in Ballarat, where the Traditional Custodians of the land are the Wadawurrung people. The Wadawurrung are part of the Kulin Nation, the longest living and continuous culture on our planet. In the spirit of reconciliation, we give our deepest respect to Australia’s First Nations Peoples, their histories, their stories, their resilience, their connection to culture and land.

We gladly pay our respects to the wisdom of their Elders, past and present. We acknowledge that sovereignty of this land was never ceded. Visit https://www.wadawurrung.org.au for more information.

Artwork by local artist Tarni Jarvis – Kurrong Kalat https://kurrongkalat.myshopify.com The artwork combines traditional symbolism, modern colour and influences. It was inspired by the local mountain ranges that surround the Central Highlands region. The curve symbol is similar to traditional symbols and is used in this work to symbolise mountain ranges. The colours and dots are modern influences on the artwork.