Since 1978
Our history
The first curtain · 1978
The Italian Theatre of Western Australia began in 1978, when the WA Association of Teachers of Italian formed the W.A.A.T.I. Drama Group with support from the Italian Consulate, UWA’s Department of Italian and Perth’s Italian community.
The founding aims were:
- To give students in the Department of Italian & teachers of Italian in general a chance to use and expand their skills in spoken Italian
- To promote Italian culture using the rich resources of Italian drama (both in dialect and standard Italian), thus making it available to the community at large
- To give an opportunity to lovers of Italian culture in Perth to learn more about the long and rich history of Italy and its great contribution to our Western culture.
A new name · 1986
Founder-members Carmela Briguglio, Enzo Sirna and Luciano Pinto helped establish the group’s enduring connection with Italian language education, UWA and the wider community. In 1986 the W.A.A.T.I. Drama Group adopted the name “Italian Theatre of WA”.
For the company’s first thirty years, the Dolphin Theatre at UWA was its home stage.
Thirty years on · 2008
Carmela Briguglio and Enzo Sirna recall
Carmela: I cannot believe it’s been 30 years! It all started when I was President of W.A.A.T.I. We were discussing what activities we could do to promote Italian language and culture. Italian was at this time expanding into the schools and becoming very popular.
Enzo: I was at the time involved with the French Department (French Club) plays and thought theatre was an excellent vehicle to achieve our goals of promoting both language and culture.
Carmela: Our first idea was to keep it at an amateur level and perform our plays at various Clubs and Schools, but Enzo, having experience with the French plays, suggested we go a step further and perform in a “real” theatre. This was a very important decision which was to take our amateur productions to a higher level. We approached Luciano Pinto at the Italian Department at the University of W.A. to assist us in gaining access to perform our plays at the University theatres. We first started rehearsing, in the OLD Dolphin Theatre. We then performed our “first” play, Uomo e Galantuomo, at the NEW Dolphin, which had just been built. In fact if I remember correctly, we were one of the first groups to use the theatre!
Enzo: We decided that we could not restrict our theatre experience just to the W.A.A.T.I Drama group but wanted to reach out to the entire community ensuring a wider audience and a wider actor base. Some names to remember from the beginning which are still appearing after 30 years are Luciano Pinto, Nick Cappa, Bill Vocisano and of course Bruno Napolitano who has also stepped into the role of director.
Carmela: We were all extremely excited but worried about the financial side as it was an unknown area we were crossing into. Fortunately Stefano Stefanini, the Italian Consul at the time, was totally committed to our venture. He had arrived in Perth with enthusiasm and was determined the Italian culture and language would make an impression on the Perth scene. When the Italian Spring Festival was born we became part of this festival and were assured of instant exposure and support.
Enzo: We were stunned by the success of our first play and of such an achievement with an amateur, dedicated group of actors. Right from the beginning we were always fortunate to have people around us who believed in our venture. From the Italian Consulate, the Department of Italian at U.W.A. to a devoted W.A.A.T.I committee (including Rita Tognini, Julie Burman, Judy Caproni, Marisa Carnevali and Michelina Currie) to Gary Hodge, a theatre consultant who assisted us in all areas of production, to John Doyle from University Theatres who is still guiding the group, to numerous supporters in the Italian Community and to our very appreciative audiences. . We must also not forget the unflagging support over many years of Ambra Marra and Anna Russocaronte, working behind the scenes with production, costuming, front of house, sponsorships and many other aspects of theatre productions. Nor can we forget the Alteri Family for the many years of support given to our group.
Carmela: It’s been a real journey! A very satisfying life experience. Again I cannot believe it’s been 30 years but I know the best is still to come!
The story continues · Today
A living community tradition
Generations of performers, directors, designers, front-of-house volunteers, sponsors and audiences have sustained the company. After three decades at the Dolphin Theatre, productions have also appeared at Camelot Theatre and the Old Mill Theatre.
The hope remains the same: to share the richness and humour of Italian drama, welcome younger Italian-Australians into the company, and keep the language alive on Perth stages.
