Hobo Playhouse Theatre Company started in 2012 in Chewton, Central Victoria, as a fundraiser for the Clown Doctors.

In those days, an assortment of talented performers were invited to perform in a large dining room and paid for their efforts with a bowl of home-made soup, crusty bread and a glass or three of vino.

In 2014, Jeffrey Bryant Jones and Rob Townsend turned Hobo Playhouse into a fully fledged theatre company to present plays with social realism themes in Central Victoria and Melbourne.

The Hobos have tackled issues such as: homelessness, Alzheimer's disease, carers, suicide, mental health, drug and alcohol addiction and youth trauma to name a few.

Several of these plays have had sold out performances including Outsiders and Come Back for Light Refreshments After the Service while Red, A Poster of the Cosmos, Tuesdays Are for Bill and The Carer all received strong critical acclaim.

Now based in Maldon, the company has extablished a strong link with La Trobe University to produce an award-winning play called Biting the Hand by Anne Southall. The play has been performed twice at the University's Hard Yards Conference and is set for another showing in August 2021.

The Hobos have also completed a series of training films for aspiring teachers at La Trobe Uni, focusing on youth trauma.

More recently, the company's educational arm - Hobo Playhouse Actors Studio - has grown significantly with the company running acting courses in Maldon, Castlemaine and Creswick.

These courses include Let's Act (An Introduction to Acting) and Scene Study; more courses are set to be launched later this year.

Hobo Playhouse is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion. As such, we encourage performers of all races and ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, abilities, and ages to audition for our productions.

For further details about the company and/or the acting classes, please email hoboplayhouse@yahoo.com

WHO'S THAT HOBO ON THE FRONT COVER?

Talented actor Steve Cooper, who gave a brilliant performance as Vic in our first production, Outsiders, is pictured on the front page of our website.