Welcome to
Thieves Theatre
We are an Arts and Dance production based in Brisbane, Queensland. We seek to make theatre that matters and the production is run by Anna Loewendahl and Dr Greg Pritchard.
Arts and Dance
We are an Arts and Dance production based in Brisbane, Queensland. We seek to make theatre that matters and the production is run by Anna Loewendahl and Dr Greg Pritchard. Both have been working together on the production for ten years, and each of them has their art practices. While Anna works with Make My Play and Transition Television, Greg is a performer, visual artist, art administrator, and writer.
Thieves Theatre was originally established in Natimuk, Western Victoria but with both Anna and Greg in different parts of Australia, Melbourne and Dubbo respectively, the theatre is no more locality-based.
Our Local Partners
History
Before coming to Australia, Anna Loewendahl created theatre in England, Zimbabwe, India and New Zealand. When she moved to Natimuk in 2005, Greg Pritchard approached her to perform in his visual artwork, the Sistine Fieldbin, an agricultural bin that was painted inside. They created a performance duo called Play at Being and a show called Arthur and Francois.
They realised that they both were interested in creating interesting and innovative original theatre, using all the techniques available to the modern theatre maker. They also realised that they shared an interest in making theatre about major philosophical issues.
In 2009 they gathered other artists in the Wimmera interested in making theatre and formed Thieves Theatre. They convinced the Wesley Performing Arts Centre to allow them to be Company in Residence and launched Thieves in that space.
Thieves’ performance work has used puppets, theatre, projections, digital images, shadows, VJ software and music and innovative performance spaces (including the agricultural bin and a large, delicate, white inflatable cube).
Projects
Thieves Theatre has carried out various projects since it started and these include;
Oliver's Tale, a bleak look at the probable consequences of our current Western lifestyles on one man, performed in a remote site with solar-powered light and sound, performed by Greg Pritchard, with Anna Loewendahl as dramaturg and director. Oliver’s Tale was funded by the Australia Council's Theatre board and Horsham Rural City Council. It was meant to be performed in November 2011, but a huge storm caused the cancellation. It was performed successfully in February 2012.
Thieves Short Poem and Haiku contest – Short poems were projected on an illuminated traffic sign, as part of the Natimuk Frinj Festival, in October 2011. Also, as part of this Frinj, Thieves produced a relay reading in the National Hotel with Homer Reith reading from his 300-page epic poem, The Wimmera.
Poets in Transit A performance piece in which Thieves (including Tim Dunmill) rode public transport buses in Horsham reading poetry. Part of the Art is the Elemental festival.
Wesley PAC Thieves Theatre Partnership Launch: 'Nina and the Ghost', (Greg Pritchard, Anna Loewendahl, Hannah French) and 'Asialink a Love story' (by Anna Loewendahl). Ensemble training demonstration directed by Anna Loewendahl.
Lit from Within, Horsham Regional Art Gallery (October). Directed by Anna Loewendahl, devised with Greg Pritchard. In association with the Awakenings Festival and Loop (Contemporary Video touring exhibition).