Barking Gecko Theatre
Barking Gecko Theatre is Western Australia's locally cherished, nationally significant company that creates theatre for children and their families. We are honoured to make our work on Whadjuk Country, the ancestral lands of the Noongar people.
Barking Gecko has a global reputation for crafting exquisite theatre of ambition, sophistication and scale. The stories we tell on stage fuse big ideas and questions with timeless, imaginative worlds. We speak to children in the here and now – to their inner lives and experience of growing up in a complex world.
When it comes to creating theatre for young audiences, our motto is: for the smallest, only the finest. We work with the country’s leading artists, developing our shows with care and rigour over a number of years.
Once Barking Gecko's productions premiere in Perth they go on to tour regionally, nationally and internationally. The productions are linked to year-round Creative Learning programs that we deliver in classrooms and communities. Children feed into our creative process via our Gecko Ensembles program of weekly drama classes, creating a direct connection with audiences across metropolitan Perth and regional WA.
Across our 30+ year history, Barking Gecko has created 72 new Australian works and performed in 12 countries across the globe. Our award-winning theatre has reached audiences of over 1 million people, leaving a legacy of wonder and imagination in the hearts and minds of children.
Current – Luke Kerridge
2015 – 2019 Matt Edgerton
2010 – 2014 John Sheedy
2006 – 2010 Jeremy Rice
1989 – 2006 Grahame Gavin
1987 – 1989 John Saunders (Acting Out)
2021
Performing Arts WA City of Perth Award Nomination for Outstanding Digital Engagement during Covid-19 - Isolate > Create > Connect
2019
AWGIE Award Winner for Best Theatre for Young Audiences – Vanessa Bates, A Ghost in My Suitcase
2018
AWGIE Award Winner for Best Theatre for Young Audiences – Finegan Kruckemeyer, My Robot
2017
Performing Arts WA Award Winner – Best Supporting Actor, St John Cowcher, My Robot
2016
Helpmann Award Winner – Best Presentation for Children, Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories
Helpmann Award Nomination – Best New Australian Work, Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories
2015
Helpmann Award Winner – Best Presentation for Children, The Rabbits
Helpmann Award Winner – Best New Australian Work, The Rabbits
Helpmann Award Winner – Best Costume Design, Gabriela Tylesova, The Rabbits
Helpmann Award Winner – Best Original Score, Kate Miller-Heidke with Iain Grandage, The Rabbits
Performing Arts WA Award Winner – Best Production, The Rabbits
Performing Arts WA Award Winner – Best Lighting, Trent Suidgeest, The Rabbits
2021 HOUSE (world premiere)
2020 Bambert's Book of Lost Stories
2019 Fully Sikh (world premiere), A Ghost in My Suitcase (Perth Festival), My Robot
2018 Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories, Living Lecture, A Ghost in My Suitcase (world premiere)
2017 My Robot (world premiere), Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories, Saltbush, In a Dark Dark Wood, Living Lecture: Romeo and Juliet
2016 Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories (world premiere), Sugarland, In a Dark Dark Wood (world premiere), The Rabbits, Living Lecture: Macbeth
2015 The Rabbits, The Witches, The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk, Storm Boy
2014 Jasper Jones (world premiere), The Rabbits (world premiere), The Witches, The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk, Storm Boy
2013 Driving Into Walls, Duck Death and the Tulip (world premiere), Hamlet, Storm Boy (world premiere), This Girl Laughs This Girl Cries This Girl Does Nothing.
2012 Driving Into Walls (world premiere), The Red Tree, This Girl Laughs This Girl Cries This Girl Does Nothing (world premiere), Improvolicious 2.0.
2011 Hoods, Improvolicious, The Amber Amulet, The Red Tree (world premiere).
2010 Improvolicious – The Improvised History of Theatre, Castle Rascals, The African Magician, Aesop and His Fables.
2009 Nargun and the Stars, Hoods, Fatty Wombat, Metal and Muscle.
2008 Australia Vs South Africa, Skylab, Run Kitty Run, Improvolicious – The Improved Guide to Amazing Inventions, Gogofish, Castle Rascals, Bear Feat.
2007 The Lost Girl, The Buzz, Run Kitty Run, The Troll and the Bowl, Improvolicious – The Improvised History of Theatre, Castle Rascals.
2006 The Feather Surfers, Trains of Thought, The Troll in the Bowl, Hidden Dragons, The Buzz.
2005 Crabbing At High Tide, Aerosoul, The Buzz, Pri-mates, Hidden Dragons, Tree House.
2004 His Majesty’s New Clothes, Hidden Dragons, The Stones, The Buzz, Crabbing At High Tide, The Littlest Bird.
2003 The Cat Who Ran, The Buzz, Hot Dogs, The Stones, Ghost Train, The Rodeo Kid, Aesop And His Fables.
2002 Sarena’s Song, Alice@Wonderful, The Buzz, Aesop And His Fables, Own Worst Enemy, 1001 Nights, Stories of the Australian Zodiac.
2001 Mice – A Cheesy Little Musical, Own Worst Enemy, 1001 Nights, Stories of the Australian Zodiac.
2000 Starlight Starbright, Frog Opera, Amy Monster, Tiger Tango, The Wizards and Witches of the New Australian Zodiac.
1999 Sandcastle Stories, Wet Dogs, Frog Opera, Turtle Island, Silverfish, Stoke!, Silverfish, Actors At Work, The Wizards and Witches of the New Australian Zodiac.
1998 Frog Opera, Noah’s Flood, Turtle Island, Actors At Work, Danny In Trouble, Wild Geckos, Letters From the Inside.
1997 The Emperor’s New Clothes, Magna Sonic, Wild Geckos, HeadSpace, Two Unreal Stories.
1996 The Deliverance of Dancing Bears, Snugglepot And Cuddlepie, Way Home, Two Unreal Stories, Alice in Wonderland. First Awesome Festival programmed!
1995 Alice in Wonderland, The Egg, Visiting the Relatives, Dolphin Talk, Ivory Circle, My Space Too, Bullyfruit, Twisted Universe, Yirra Yaakin separated from Barking Gecko Theatre Company to become its own wonderful company!
1994 Visiting the Relatives, Ivory Circle, The Sea Dreams of Isabele Ismay, Puppy Love, Malache – Dispatches from Another World, The Voyage of the Poppykettle, Visiting the Relatives, Talking To Grandma While the World Goes Around, Alice In Wonderland. First presentation at Perth International Arts Festival.
1993 Selected Moments From the Voyage of Vasco Pyjama, Ivory Circle, Boss of the Pool, Fossils
1992 Visiting the Relatives, Melanie and the Night Animal, The Amazing Adventures of Don Quixote, The Cat Makes Tracks, The Whale
1991 Wicked, Dolphin Talk, The Voyage of Vasco Pyjama, Black Diamonds, Unreal, Telling Tales
1990 Monkey See Monkey Do, Dolphin Talk, Jenny Goes Wild, Talking to Grandma While the World Goes By, Boss of the Pool, Boxed In
1989 Kit and Caboodle, Dolphin Talk, A Sporting Chance, Puppy Love, The Great Geraldton Railways Picnic
1988 Year 9 Are Animals, Susumu’s Story, Junk, Smash Hit, Hating Alison Ashley, Curriculum Alive