Theatre company to pay tribute to iconic pop band

BALLINA Players Theatre is gearing up for its final production of the year which will be a new musical, paying tribute to iconic Australian pop band The Seekers.

Georgy Girl will be held on Friday, November 7-30 with the musical to combine humour, nostalgia and drama, while capturing the spirit and rise of the band in the 1960s.

The show will focus on the main quartet of the band when it first formed under Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley.

The band members will be played by Leah Van Ewijk, Logan Cartwright, Gabe Dunwoodie-Halverson and Josh Watson, with Paul Belsham and Leanne Broadly directing the show.

The Seekers musical was performed professionally in 2020, while local theatre companies have taken to the stage with their own versions this year.

“It’s going to be a great show, as someone who played in bands myself, it’s been incredible to look back into the history of The Seekers,” Belsham said.

“They sold 50 million records, which is staggering, and to think they played at a coffee bar in Melbourne and were on top of the English charts less than two years later.

“Two of the bands they knocked off on the charts were The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, too.”

The Seekers were the first Australian pop band to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States.

They were the first Australian band to score a No.1 hit in the US with Georgy Girl.

In 1976, they returned to Australia for a free concert at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, which broke attendance records in the Southern hemisphere.

“I’m pretty sure there was 200,000 and that the record still stands,” Belsham said.

“I love these jukebox shows, and I think a lot of people who come along will have fond memories of music from the time.

“This one includes a performance of one of their hits, I Am Australian, which is quite emotional when you see it live.

“About 75 per cent of tickets have already gone out, so we’ll be looking at sold-out shows.”

Tickets are available online at trybooking.com/DGCLA, in store at Ballina Colour Copy, or phone 02 6686 9439