Plenty of University of Southern Queensland (USQ) talent was on show when the stage production of Animal Farm hit Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre this week.
The Shake and Stir Theatre Company production of the George Orwell’s political allegory novel has been touring the country and three of the five actors are USQ alumni.
The production features former USQ students Tim Dashwood, Bryan Probets and Nelle Lee (USQ’s 2011 Young Alumnus of the Year).
Nelle – who graduated with a Bachelor of Theatre Arts in 2004 - said she was looking forward to bringing the critically acclaimed play to Toowoomba.
“George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a fantastic book that translates to the stage very well,” Nelle said.
“We’ve received a positive reception from audiences across Australia and I’m excited to be back in Toowoomba.”
Nelle said it wasn’t surprising to see a high number of former USQ students in the production.
“There are quite a few of us in the industry and the University taught us the importance of generating our own work,” Nelle said.
“USQ graduates are really good at collaborating – I’m very proud to see such a high ratio in this production.”
The University has a long and distinguished history of supporting the Arts locally and nationally, engaging with the community as a leading provider of theatre and drama education.
USQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas said the University prides itself on nurturing emerging artists and providing audiences with quality arts experiences.
“It is an honour that USQ is a part of sharing what promised to be one of the most thought provoking theatre events in 2013,” Professor Thomas said.
“I am proud that the incredibly talented cast of Queensland’s most dynamic actors in this performance included a number of USQ graduates.”
The production was named Best Play of 2011 by the Courier-Mail and collected three Matilda Awards (Queensland Theatre Awards) including Best Independent Play, Best Direction and Best Design.
Animal Farm was shown at Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre Thursday May 2 2013.
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