This isn’t a red herring! Canberra has a new theatre company (with an exciting debut show)
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The theatre. That feeling of sitting in a darkened room, waiting for the curtains to open, an actor to walk out and take you into a new world.
While Canberra may not be known internationally for its theatre scene (yet), it doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
In fact, it’s constantly growing and changing, with local actor 20-year-old Lachlan Herring creating his own theatre company; Red Herring Theatre Company, proving Canberra is home to local talent.
“I’ve always loved theatre and for me as a kid, it really helped me find a safe place and feel like I wasn’t alone,” he shares.
“I’ve always wanted to give that to audiences through my acting work and creating a theatre company is the next step.”
“I honestly didn’t expect to do it this early,” Lachlan says.
“My plan was to do it when I was a bit older, but after drama school, I was hit with the feeling of wanting to do this, and there’s so much value as an actor making your own work because you can’t just spend all day waiting for the phone to ring.”
Many Canberrans were shocked with the announcement from Canberra Youth Theatre (CYT) on December 3rd 2024 that they would be running at a reduced capacity, which meant they wouldn’t be staging any youth productions in 2025.
Lachlan’s reaction to the news was no different to many of us.
“It’s heartbreaking what’s happening with Canberra Youth Theatre, especially with what they give to young Canberran artists and giving them a voice.”
Red Herring Theatre Company (RHTC) may not be as established as CYT yet, but Lachlan hopes his company can provide some stability for Canberra’s youth actors.
“I’m a big believer in giving emerging and young artists a voice … we can’t just have one generation and one demographic talking about these things, it needs to be everyone.”
RHTC are staging Mojo by acclaimed playwright Jez Butterworth as their debut show, in a co-production capacity with ACT Hub.
“It really resonated with me in a way of the discussions of masculinity and how it takes these modern discussions and puts them in a framework of the 1950s.”
“As a young man myself, questions of masculinity come up and that’s part of growing up and understanding your relationship with that.”
“Mojo is really big and over the top and takes the image of what you don’t want to be doing and … pushes that to such an extreme that it leads to absolute disaster.”
The cast of six are comprised of Canberra actors and Melbourne actors – with rehearsals being held since mid-November.
“We definitely wanted to bring in as many Canberra artists as we could … in the opportunities we had with casting, we definitely tried to bring in more Canberra artists … because we want to showcase what Canberra is capable of as much as anything.”
A proud Canberran himself, Lachlan believes the bush capital should be home to more local theatre companies.
“Art in general informs how we look at the world and so having local art and local theatre is really important in helping us explore and create discussions around our own sphere.”
While Canberra has hosted many productions, musicals and shows across a variety of theatre companies and locations, Lachlan sees one main issue holding back the full potential.
“We don’t have a big state-funded theatre company and because of that, it’s difficult for the [acting] scene here to thrive [and show] what it’s truly capable of because we don’t have the funding.”
“Whilst it’s not like my company will help bring in that funding, another company pushing to make good work is always important in building that scene as much as we can.”
A passionate supporter of the arts, Lachlan is hoping young and upcoming locals will join shows and step into the world he loves.
“Learn, open your mind, read as much as you can, take local courses but most importantly, put yourself out there and audition for things.”
As for the future of Red Herring Theatre Company? Lachlan has high hopes.
“I want to really try and diversify the audiences that are coming to see theatre … I want to demystify theatre and help people see that it can be a fun night out.
“The goal is to entertain and then if you move them that’s great, but you want to entertain first and foremost.”
THE ESSENTIALS
What: Mojo by Red Herring Theatre Company x ACT Hub
When: Wednesday 22 January – Saturday 1 February
Where: ACT Hub at Causeway Hall, 14 Spinifex Street, Kingston
Tickets: acthub.com.au
Photography: Ben Appleton – Photox Canberra
