Deidre Grace has always been passionate about everything she does. As a businesswoman, she and her husband ran People in Plastic, an industrial wholesaler in Brisbane with a national reach. As an actor and theatre producer, she gave her all to her craft and couldn’t help but notice the lack of affordable and accessible performance venues to stage her own work. This need became the seed that led her to put up Milton’s Pip Theatre, a production company and venue for like-minded arts organisations to hire.
With a single-minded purpose, Deidre went to work putting together her dream team, starting with Michelle Apps, Co-Founder and Company Director of Pip Theatre. Michelle has superb qualifications in IT, finance and governance and was on the lookout for a project that fulfilled a worthy social purpose, one that would use her skills and have a lasting impact on the community.
On the creative side, Amelia Slatter, a graduate of Bachelor of Creative Industries Drama at QUT, takes care of the venue’s programming and development as a premier entertainment hub by tapping into and creating opportunities for local creatives to get their chance to shine in the spotlight at PIP theatre.
Jenna Todd, the Marketing Director with a business degree from QUT, communicates and promotes the vision and values of the theatre, especially on online media.
Before Pip Theatre
Whilst Pip Theatre opened in 2022, it was anchored with the establishment of the Dome Dance Bar in the 1990s. Multiple shows were done at this venue in a unique skylit dome, which paved the way for its transformation into the Toucan Bar.
The Toucan Bar was a brightly-coloured Toucan-themed dance venue that attracted a crowd of dancers week after week. More than a decade later, however, the site was reborn as Maggie Black’s Jazz Bar in 2007. Here, lively and captivating jazz music brought a cosy and intimate atmosphere.
By 2011, the jazz bar had become the Brazilian Touch, another Toucan-themed site that served Brazilian dishes. However, the once exciting site was redeveloped as the Milton Dome offices in 2012, closing the chapter on this precinct as an entertainment site until Pip Theatre revived it.
Upcoming Shows
After “Bombshells” in January 2023 and “Moon With a View” in late 2022, Pip Theatre’s lineup of shows for the rest of 2023 includes powerful, compelling and rousing stories.
“Grand Horizons” is a comedic play delving into how a family grapples over the divorce of a 50-year marriage. Bess Wohl wrote the story.
“Beginning” looks hard at making connections, online dating, and dealing with life’s baggage. First shown in London and then at the West End, this play by David Eldridge makes its Australian debut at the Pip Theatre.
“The Penelopiad” is an adaptation by Margaret Atwood based on the story of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.
Pip Theatre is also open for co-production with external directors and producers or venue hire for one-off shows. Phone (07) 3275 4900 for enquiries or check out their Instagram page for more information.
Published 11-April-2023