Black Swan State Theatre Company

Black Swan State Theatre Company — Perth’s resident state theatre

Black Swan State Theatre Company is the principal Western Australian theatre company, founded in 1991 and based at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia on William Street, Northbridge. The company produces a typical year of six mainstage productions plus the substantial Perth Festival programming each year. The artistic director since 2024 is Kate Champion, succeeding Clare Watson.

The company’s programming line balances contemporary Australian playwriting (with substantial commitment to Western Australian playwrights), the canonical Australian and international theatre repertoire, and the company’s role in the Perth Festival each year. Recent productions that have defined the company in the last decade include Andrew Bovell’s The Drover’s Wife, Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie, the Tom Wright Picnic at Hanging Rock, and the regular collaborations with the Aboriginal-led Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.

Home venue

• State Theatre Centre of Western Australia — Heath Ledger Theatre (575 seats, the principal mainstage) and Studio Underground (200 seats, the chamber black-box space). The complex sits in the Cultural Centre at Northbridge, ten minutes’ walk from the Perth CBD.

Useful links

• Official: bsstc.com.au
• Where we cover them: Companies, Reviews