Echo Theatre Co
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Echo Theatre Co
Aspiring performers from across the region have access to a professional pathway with The Q’s theatre company, Echo Theatre. Echo has an increased focus on creating from within. Under the guidance of artistic director Jordan Best, Echo produces at least one show each year as part of the subscription season with a view to offering these shows across the wider region. Echo provides a rich creative environment that promotes the amazing wealth of established and developing talent that enriches our cultural landscape.
God of Carnage
2022 & 2025
The Q and Echo Theatre rounded out 2022 with this darkly comedic gem from Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton – returning in 2025 for a tour of NSW, supported by Arts on Tour.
What happens when two sets of parents meet up to deal with the unruly behaviour of their children? A calm and rational debate between grown-ups about the need to teach kids how to behave properly? Or a hysterical night of name-calling, tantrums, and tears before bedtime?
This is a comedy of manners, without the manners…
“Jordan Best directs this in a fine manner, managing the pace between the slow builds up of tension and the sudden explosions into violent outbursts. All four performers are at the top of their game…[t]here’s not a wrong note in the under 90 minute running time – the quartet plays this material to perfection, bringing out the character’s foibles, aggressions, defensiveness and pretentions in full glorious display..” – Simon Tolhurst
Macbeth
2025
In 2025, Echo partnered with Lakespeare to stage one of Shakespeare’s greatest works in the great outdoors of Queanbeyan and Canberra, building on the activation of the Aunty Louise Brown Park established by A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“Lakespeare’s and The Q’s co-production is a feat of riveting storytelling. As the sky darkened over the Aunty Louise Brown lawns and Shakespeare’s psychological and political thriller hurtled towards its prophetic denouement, I found myself rapt in the company’s artful storytelling. It’s a ripping good yarn that will keep you wanting to see what happens however well you know that something wicked this way comes.”
– Peter Wilkins, Canberra Critics Circle
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2024
An Echo & Echo Youth Production
Following the redevelopment of The Q precinct and the opening of the Aunty Louise Brown Park, Echo Theatre activated the space and transported audiences to the enchanted forest as they brought Shakespeare’s famous comedy to life in the great outdoors.
Audiences joined a cast of our region’s finest (and funniest!) actors for an evening of laughter and romance, moonlit woods, love potions and more than a few misunderstandings!
“Costumes are eclectically beautiful and the show has a heap of atmosphere in the new space. One to put on the list for a pre-Christmas entertainment.”
– City News
Bombshells
2024
2024 saw Echo Theatre produce Joanna Murray-Smith’s acclaimed play Bombshells, a journey from crisis to hilarity, via the thoughts of a group of women all linked by more than just their proximity to the edge; an aging cabaret singer at the end of her career, a nervous bride-to-be, an exhausted young mother, a widow with a yearning for the unexpected, a broken-hearted cactus lover, and a feisty teenage talent-quest competitor.
Joy, drama, crisis, fear, revelation – there are times where you have to remain cool and calm on the outside. The inside, meanwhile, is a flailing monologue of personal pep talks, perish-the-thoughts and perpetual panic. Bombshells strips back the façade of womanhood to reveal the things that sometimes we’d just love to say out loud.
“The beauty of Best’s direction here is the warmth with which the characters are drawn. In spite of being flawed, self-deceiving, vain or petty, these women are completely sympathetic. We laugh with them, not at them.” – Cathy Bannister, Stage Whispers
King Lear
2023
A kingdom, ruled by an ageing, authoritarian monarch, is fractured by pride, folly, and avarice in Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, King Lear. When the deteriorating King misjudges the loyalty of their children, the struggle for power becomes unflinchingly violent and callous, and ultimately leads to devastating consequences.
In this bold, contemporary adaptation, Karen Vickery starred as the titular King alongside an extraordinary local cast. Audiences saw The Q as they’d never seen it before, as Echo Theatre’s electrifying production delivered a spectacle of otherworldly proportions.
A family drama with global resonance, King Lear forces us to confront our own humanity, and dismantle our preconceptions of power.
“Echo Theatre’s King Lear cuts through to the psychological essence within a story. It avoided over-simplifying the actions into a linear narrative that neglected the vertical dimensions of human behaviour. This required exquisite performance skills from the cast and director making this production a high point for Echo Theatre.”
– City News
Ruthless!
2022
How far would you go to get what you want?
All-female camp KILLER cult classic Ruthless! The Musical tells the story of the beautiful and talented 8-year-old Tina Denmark who will do anything to play the lead in her school play…ANYTHING!
When little Tina Denmark, a precocious little triple-threat, gets herself a manager and tries out for the lead in the school play, her and mother’s lives are thrown into a high-camp chaos! One thing leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another, and suddenly there’s death and destruction belting and Fosse all over the place.
A cross between The Bad Seed and Gypsy with All About Eve – Boutique music theatre at its best.
“Director Jordan Best has assembled a superb cast who obviously relish the opportunity to pull out all stops to cope with the myriad of preposterous revelations and plot twists. ..a delightfully staged production of a rarely seen but wonderfully entertaining musical.”
– Australian Arts Review
Wolf Lullaby
2021
A small country town…
A horrible crime…
An unimaginable suspect…
The beginning of 2021 saw The Q opening its doors once again with the award winning Australian play by Hillary Bell. Wolf Lullaby asks, when a child commits an act of terrible violence, who is really responsible?
“Wolf Lullaby has enough psychological power to remain imprinted on the psyche of its audience. […] [It] should be priority viewing for anyone interested in experiencing the power of theatre to evoke apparently invisible realities within social and psychological existence.” – City News
Belfast Girls
2019
In 2019, Echo staged the professional premiere of Belfast Girls by Jaki McCarrick, the story of 5 famine orphans coming to Australia from Belfast in the 1850s. These extraordinary women are part of our history, helping to shape the Australia we know today.
“There is a stark and earthy authenticity to Jordan Best’s premiere production of Belfast Girls for Echo Theatre, the newly formed professional resident company at the Q. […] We see real women, bearing the burden of their poverty and struggle through dreams of escape and good fortune. We see women, true to their nature, fighting, supporting, comforting and confronting their identity during a three-month passage to a new and uncertain future. And we see women, determined to shake off the shackles of expectation and male authority.”
– Peter Wilkins, The Canberra Times
Goldilocks
We all know the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, right?
Well, prepare to be charmed, surprised, entertained and delighted all over again by this endearing and lovable musical tale for kids 0-8.
A beautiful story of friendship and forgiveness, apology and acceptance, with singing and dancing bears and a girl with golden hair. With gentle audience interaction and songs to sing along to, Goldilocks and the Three Bears is the perfect introduction to the world of theatre.
“Jordan Best has produced a very energetic production with lots of visual humour and simple but effective choreography. She has taken great care to ensure that every moment is non-threatening for its young audience. It’s not preachy or dumbed down either but it does show children quietly that it pays to be kind to everyone.”
– Len Power, Canberra Critics Circle
Echo Youth
Launched in 2022, Echo Youth provides opportunities for our regions young artists to work with and learn from our established local artists.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2024
An Echo & Echo Youth Production
Following the redevelopment of The Q precinct and the opening of the Aunty Louise Brown Park, Echo Theatre activated the space and transported audiences to the enchanted forest as they brought Shakespeare’s famous comedy to life in the great outdoors.
Audiences joined a cast of our region’s finest (and funniest!) actors for an evening of laughter and romance, moonlit woods, love potions and more than a few misunderstandings!
“Costumes are eclectically beautiful and the show has a heap of atmosphere in the new space. One to put on the list for a pre-Christmas entertainment.”
– City News
Puffs
2023
You know the story of a certain-boy-wizard at a certain Wizard School… but have you heard the story of the Puffs? They just happened to be there too! A tale for anyone who has never been destined to save the world, Puffs is an inventive must see for certain-boy-wizard fans!
This clever and inventive play “never goes more than a minute without a laugh” (Nerdist) giving you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children.
“Pushing the expectations of youth theatre, the cast delivers the play flawlessly with witty retorts, tongue-in-check references, and moments of heartwarming character development. The perfect night out for lovers of wizardry, performance, and fun for all ages.”
– Jessica Cordwell, Canberra Daily
This Changes Everything
2022
A group of disillusioned young people have disappeared. On a platform out at sea, they have formed The Community — a new type of society and a better way of living. But how can you change the world if you’ve taken yourself out of it?
In 2022, Echo Youth Theatre was born, debuting with this powerful play about smart, politically and socially engaged young people fed up with the way the world is.