Over the past ten years bAKEHOUSE has invested more than $6million into the city’s independent sector:
$2.5 in box office sales going direct to artists.
$3,64 million invested in independent artists through subsidised venue hire provided for performance, rehearsal, development, and events
That’s $6,14 million invested in the independent sector by bAKEHOUSE through KXT.
++ 85% of projects and work has been led by Early Career Artists
++ 50% of work in our support programs and on our stage has been led by Artists of Colour
++ 85% of work programmed at KXT has been world premieres of New Australian work
++ 75% of the work in our support programs and on our stage has been led by LGBTQIA+ artists
11 years ago, bAKEHOUSE was invited to launch KINGS CROSS THEATRE – and we knew what we wanted to do. We wanted to stage work that was truly Australian, that looked and sounded like the community we lived in; that foregrounded women on stage and on the creative teams; that provided an opportunity for early career artists and recent graduates to work alongside experienced professionals and to finetune their craft, to find their tribe.
We wanted to push the boundaries of the style of work that was on Sydney stages, most particularly the scale so we could continue to stage the big bold work that we loved with casts of 10, 12, 15 and more actors on stage, but also to challenge what the design of indie shows looked like.
We wanted to see ambitious plays, with big ideas at the heart of them, plays that spoke of the big world we live in, and the sometimes-small lives we live.
We wanted to somehow see artists paid, and producers walk away with something for all their work. We wanted to be sure our rehearsal rooms and theatres were safe places, where women and young people and queer and gender-diverse and artists of colour could work comfortably and confidently, knowing that it was all under pinned with respect for the people and the work.
We wanted to do away with all-nighters and long unreasonable hours and short preview seasons when the work was rushed onto stages not quite but almost ready.
10 years ago, independent theatre was taking baby steps. And now it’s all grown up, a fully-fledged sector, with pathways and ambition and opportunities and excellence at its core. We’re proud to have been at the forefront of the change that has come about over the past decade and excited for what the next 10 years hold