Storytellers: Giving New Theatre Room to Grow

What does it take to turn a good idea into great theatre? Byron Theatre Company's Storytellers program is bringing artists, mentors and creative teams together to find out.

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Every new theatre work begins somewhere. A story that won't leave you alone. A character who keeps turning up in your imagination. A question you can't quite answer.

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But what happens next? How do you take that idea into a rehearsal room, explore its possibilities and discover what it might become?

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That's what Storytellers is all about.

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Byron Theatre Company's new artist development program is creating opportunities for Northern Rivers theatre-makers to explore original work, connect with experienced practitioners and take their projects to the next stage.

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For Creative Producer Bianca Sirianni, the program grew from her experience developing Displace I Call Home, produced at Byron Theatre in 2025.

"Making that work made me realise that if we want to produce new theatre by artists from this region, we also need to support everything that happens before a production reaches the stage."

A little room to experiment

Storytellers is looking for creative teams of two to five artists who already have a project underway and are ready to explore what comes next.

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That might be a new play, devised theatre, physical theatre or something that doesn't fit neatly into any particular category.

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Four projects will be selected for a three-day Development Lab in January 2027. Each team receives $800, professional mentorship and dedicated creative time.

It's a chance to get into a room and try things out. Read a script aloud, experiment with movement, challenge an idea, pull something apart and see what happens when you put it back together.

"I want the Development Lab to create room," says Bianca. "Room to play. Room to fail. Room to ask questions. Room to change your mind."

From there, up to two projects will progress to five-day residencies at Byron Theatre between February and April, receiving an additional $2,500, technical support, continued mentorship and the opportunity to share their work with an invited audience.

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The aim isn't to produce a finished play in three days. It's to give artists the time and support to discover what their work needs next.

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Different projects, different mentors

One of the most exciting aspects of Storytellers is that mentorship won't follow a set formula.

An emerging playwright might need an experienced dramaturg to help find the heart of a script. A physical theatre project might benefit from a choreographer or movement specialist. Another team might need a director to challenge their approach, or a producer who can help them understand what it will take to bring their work to an audience.

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The mentors will be chosen to suit the project, rather than asking every project to fit the same development model.

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Leading the mentorship are producer Jane Fuller and director Heather Fairbairn, who bring different but complementary experience.

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Jane has spent decades producing theatre, dance, festivals and multidisciplinary performance in Australia and internationally. Most recently Executive Director of Arts Northern Rivers, she understands both the creative and practical challenges of getting new work made.

"Trust is at the heart of good mentorship," says Jane. "A good mentor doesn't tell an artist what their work should become. Instead, they help create the confidence and clarity for artists to discover that for themselves."

Heather is an award-winning director of theatre, opera and live-cinema, whose work spans major Australian and international stages. She has directed for Bell Shakespeare, Queensland Theatre Company, Victorian Opera and Opera Australia, and collaborated with leading European companies including London's Royal Court Theatre and Royal Ballet and Opera. Closer to home, Heather was Artistic Associate at NORPA, leading new work and artist development, and previously Associate Director - New Work at CIRCA, helping create productions that have toured internationally. In 2026, she directed Byron Theatre Company's Tirra Lirra by the River.

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Additional guest mentors for projects progressing to residency may include acclaimed actor and director Wayne Blair, performer and choreographer Waangenga Blanco, and other practitioners whose particular skills can help a project move forward.

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It's about finding the right person at the right moment in a project's development.

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Why make new theatre here?

For Heather, developing professional theatre in the Northern Rivers is also about changing where Australian work is made.

"High-quality, text-based theatre can be created and presented locally, not just in capital cities. So often work is made in the cities and toured to the regions. I've regularly had to rehearse productions in Sydney for them to tour to regional Australia later. What I'm interested in is reversing that pipeline - making work in the regions and sending it to the cities, so regional voices are part of the national conversation."

The Northern Rivers is full of artists with stories to tell. What we need are more opportunities for those stories to be developed, tested and shared here.

As Jane reflects, "Every classic play was once a new work."

And while we'd love to see Storytellers projects eventually reach our stage and others, that's not the only measure of success.

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A development might lead to a new collaborator, a completely different direction or the discovery that an idea needs more time. All of those things are valuable.

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For Bianca, the hope is that Storytellers becomes part of a lasting pathway for new theatre in the region.