Life Members of the Bijou Theatre

Marie and Doug Slater have been members of the Esperance Theatre Guild since its inception in 1968. They have taken active roles both on and off stage, also held positions on the committee over several years, especially during the 1970-80 era.

Doug was very involved with the initial leasing and susequent purchase of the Bijou Theatre from ROAB Lodge. Marie served a long term as wardrobe mistress in the developing years. A highlight of their acting career was when they had opposite roles in "The Gondoliers" in 1973.

Share this post

John Crawley was first "co-opted" to join the Theatre Guild in 1985 because of his expertise with hammer and chisel!

Little did he know what he was letting himself in for - initially designing and supervising the busy bees for the "John Crawley Extension" which was no mean feat, adding 14 squares to the original building, making "life at the Bijou" so much better - least of all was the new toilets!!!

Once this was completed John was hooked and many an hour has been spent back-stage, designing and constructing sets and accessories for many productions. In the late 1990s he was co-ordinator of the "work for the dole" scheme which assisted in the complete re-construction/modelling of the exterior of the Bijou Theatre. John's dedication continues into the new millennium.

Share this post

Dale became involved in the Esperance Theatre Guild almost from its inception, while it was still operating out of the old RSL Hall. Her husband David was roped into “Whitehorse Inn” in the late 60s, as the Guild was always short for men (and still is).

She directed her first play in the early seventies and went on to direct many more over the next two decades. Her other love was stage management and set design and she assisted in that capacity on a number of occasions for other productions.

In 1984 she wrote the musical “Cheap At Half The Price” in collaboration with Heather Timms, who wrote the music. Based on the history of Esperance, the play had a season of 9 nights that year and was repeated in 1988 for the Bicentenary. Other revue style pieces were written for such productions as “Sin On The Sandplain” and “The Starz Awards”. Dale served on the committee in every capacity at one time or another.

During her time as Treasurer she says that her friend Jane Ratten did more balancing of the books than she did, "owing to my inability to add up". Dale says that she gained a great understanding of theatre from the many visiting directors the Guild employed, received tremendous artistic satisfaction and had the best of fun times at the Bijou Theatre.

Share this post