Hobo Playhouse tackles hard yards

WHAT started in 2015 as small fundraising effort has today grown into a community theatre company tackling big issues.

Jeffrey Bryant Jones held catchups in his house in Chewton for him and his friends to help raise money for the Clown Doctors, a group who aim to bring joy and laughter to children in hospital.

Eventually, Hobo Playhouse was born with the plan of putting social issues on stage.

“We mainly had about 12 people in my dining room, we’d have actors and poets and singers, and they’d come along and perform, they’d donate, and we’d have a big bowl of soup and some wine,” Mr Jones said.

“From there, two years later it evolved into a theatre company presenting small shows in Castlemaine.

“We’d mainly present shows with social realism themes, our first play was about homelessness and other themes include things like Alzheimer’s, carers, mental health, LGBTIQ, suicide, also happy topics.”

Mr Jones said they aim to give the audience something to relate too, while also educating viewers about difficult topics.

“A lot of the plays we put on are comedy dramas, they start off very funny, and they draw the audience in and then there’s a major twist where the drama comes in,” he said.

“It’s basically like holding up a mirror to the audience where their laughing at something and five minutes later they might be crying.”

Once a year, the Hobo Playhouse attends the Hard Yards professional development workshop at La Trobe University, performing the play Biting the Hand, about a young person’s traumatic childhood.

Mr Jones said the play gives educators attending the conference a better understanding of dealing with the effects of childhood trauma.

“It’s showing not telling and it has a completely different impact on them, they walk out of there and they’re quite stunned because suddenly it’s in their face,” he said.

“The play tells of a young person’s early childhood trauma that he experienced, mental physical and sexual and how to approach him in an education setting.”

The workshop is on Friday, 13 August at Bendigo Bank Theatre, presented by course coordinator of master of inclusion and diversity Dr Anne Southall and Biting the Hand writer Anne Southall.

Lead in social work and social policy at La Trobe, Fiona Gardner, who was recently received an Order of Australia medal, will also deliver a keynote talk.

To book a spot at the Hard Yard workshop head to bit.ly/3xzQacl and for more information on the Hobo Playhouse theatre company visit hoboplayhouse.com.