News

Casting call for open roles in 2 Free-Rain shows

Free-Rain Theatre Company have announced the very talented casts for their three shows on at ACT Hub in 2025. Excitingly, there are still a few roles yet to be cast, so if you’re keen to tread the boards with the amazing talent already cast, we’d love you to send your expression of interest (EOI) to […]

Cast announcement - Equus

Equus by Peter Shaffer is an electric play about passion and worship. Equus is very confronting and sets out to shock, excite and captivate its audience. It is an exploration of the human condition with its confusions, paradoxes and unanswerable questions, blending the naturalistic with the surreal. Free-Rain Theatre Company are thrilled to announce the […]

Cast announcement - Lend Me a Tenor

Lend Me a Tenor is a classic farce with the usual menu of silly situations, mistaken identities, mistakes, mishaps, miscommunication, misperception, misconception… It is a delicious piece of nonsense that charges at full speed towards resolution. Free-Rain Theatre Company are delighted to announce the marvelous members of our cast for this fabulous frivolity. CAST: For […]

Cast announcement - The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Living an isolated rural life in Connemara, west Ireland, Maureen’s one chance at a romantic relationship is thwarted by the spiteful machinations of her mother, Mag. The Beauty Queen of Leenane examines the despair, spite and malevolence of people living hopeless lives, presented in a way that is funny, sad, violent, and ultimately riveting. Free-Rain are delighted […]

Reviews - The House of Bernarda Alba

Vickery has created a heated and very concentrated distillation of entrapment and contained humanity. Chaika Theatre’s production emphasises the binding of those caught inside this barred up house. We see why they can’t just run away. The ensemble playing of the cast ensures the ritualising of the interpersonal constrictions enforcing imposed confinement. From the small […]

Auditions - Every Lovely Terrible Thing

Be part of this contemporary queer Australian story – audition now! In just it’s second production since premiering at Melbourne’s Theatre Works in 2024, Every Lovely Terrible Thing is a universal tale of love, courage and intergenerational trauma, boldly examining why families stay together – and what happens when they can’t. Directed by Lachlan Houen, […]

Free-Rain Theatre Company - Callbacks, Videos & EOIs for ACT Hub Season 2025

Callbacks for Beauty Queen and Lend Me a Tenor will be held on Saturday 18th January at Cook. New auditionees are asked to send an EOI. For Equus, new auditionees are asked to send an EOI.

Winners at the 2024 Canberra Critics Circle Awards

On Tuesday 12 November members of the ACT Hub collective were delighted to attend the 2024 Canberra Critics Circle Awards, and thrilled to be recognised for outstanding work in such a breadth and depth of areas. * Joel Horwood 2 awards– The Helen Tsongas Award for Excellence in Acting was presented by Canberra Theatre director […]

Auditions - Chaika Theatre's 2025 Season

Chaika is thrilled to announce auditions for one of their upcoming 2025 productions! While we can’t yet reveal the show (you’ll have to come along to the Season Launch on Thursday 21 November for that ), Chaika are excited to be staging their first ever Shakespeare next year in July/August under the helm of an […]

Auditions - Open Casting Call for Free-Rain's 2025 Season at ACT Hub

Free-Rain Theatre Company will be staging 3 (three) productions at ACT Hub in 2025. We have two dramas and one comedy to cast. Together with the two other companies in the ACT Hub collective, there will be 10 plays staged at ACT Hub in 2025. Date, Time & Location Free-Rain Theatre Company will be holding […]

Reviews - August Osage County

Feeling like it summarises all the great American plays into one outsized epic,… this is a play that contains multitudes. This is an epic and powerful production. Karen Vickery as the matriarch is the mother from hell, and seizes the opportunity to ride a role that allows her to play everything from pathetic incoherence in […]

Reviews - Every Brilliant Thing

Jarred West is outstanding as the Narrator. Whether looking back to his time as a seven year old, to his teenage years and then on to his adult life, he is completely convincing. Joel Horwood’s direction is tight, busy and imaginative, giving West the opportunity to bring depth, both verbally and non-verbally, to his role […]

Reviews - Mary Stuart

Reviews of Chaika’s production of Mary Stuart at ACT Hub in Canberra PR for Chaika’s production of Mary Stuart at ACT Hub in Canberra Quotes from the reviewers Steph Roberts (Mary Stuart) and Karen Vickery (Elizabeth) provided strong pivotal performances… an opportunity to experience something of the very essence of power play and how it […]

Audition - Tick, Tick... Boom!

This December ACT Hub presents Tick, Tick… Boom! and we are holding video auditions for the lead role. Send in your submission before 9 August.

Cast announcement - August: Osage County

Free-Rain Theatre Company is delighted to announce the full cast for our upcoming production of August: Osage County, to be staged at ACT Hub from 5 – 15 September 2024. Beverly Weston – David H. BennettViolet Weston – Karen VickeryBarbara Fordham – Louise BennetBill Fordham – Bruce HardieJean Fordham – Ella BuckleyIvy Weston – Crystal […]

Reviews - A Streetcar Named Desire

Triumphant production of a searing classicby Alanna Maclean, Canberra City News, 20 June 2024 Tennessee Williams is not for the faint of heart. Free-Rain do a fine job with this searing classic. Amy Kowalczuk as Blanche and Meaghan Stewart as her sister Stella are one of the best matched set of Streetcar sisters that you […]

Cast announcement - A Streetcar Named Desire

Following their acclaimed production of Speaking in Tongues in 2023, Free-Rain Theatre Company returns in 2024 with one of the most influential plays of the twentieth century, with Amy Kowalczuk as Blanche DuBois, Alex Hoskison as Stanley Kowalski, and Meaghan Stewart as Stella Kowalski.

Reviews - Seagull

Read about Chaika’s namesake play, Seagull, and the wonderful things written about this new translation and adaptation by Karen Vickery.

Reviews - The Importance of Being Earnest

Reviews from our 2022 production, and Dec 2023 revival, in anticipation of our 1 night only show on 2 March 2023.

Winners at The Ovations in 2023

ACT Hub were delighted to have the three companies in our collective, and the individual performers and creatives, celebrated and acknowledged at The Ovations Awards on 2 Feb 2024

Reviews - Queers

Read the lovely things reviewers have said about our beautiful show.

Reviews - The inaugural Canberra Cabaret Festival

Hear about how our very first Canberra Cabaret Festival went – hint … AMAZINGLY WELL!

Reviews - Speaking In Tongues

Here is a collection of the news and reviews of this exquisite production of a very entertaining and ingenious play.

Welcome to our new website

As we launch our Season 2024, we decided such an awesome season of quality theatre deserves an equally awesome new website – and here it is.

Karen Vickery wins award for excellence in acting

A powerful actor-director who gave up her day job to get behind a new theatrical enterprise in Canberra was presented with the 2022 Helen Tsongas Award for excellence in acting.