La Mama Theatre Pausing 2025 Programming To Launch 'Our Next Act' Campaign

Beloved Carlton not-for-profit La Mama Theatre has announced it is pausing programming in 2025 so as to launch its OUR NEXT ACT fundraising campaign.

The theatre, which opened in 1967 by late director Betty Burstall AM, was inspired by a trip to New York City and the vibrant nature of the city's small theatres. Modelled after and borrowing the name of the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, La Mama was a breath of fresh air in the Australian theatre scene, offering a chance for experimental works to have a place to be produced and seen.

Ever since, La Mama has asserted itself as “Australia’s most vital, responsive, inclusive and diverse home of independent theatre-making”, developing, nurturing, and promoting thousands of independent artists, while giving their work an opportunity to connect with audiences.

Some of its famous alumni also includes the likes of Cate Blanchett, David Williamson, Julia Zemiro, Jack Blundell, Judith Lucy, and Uncle Jack Charles.

However, La Mama has now taken to its website to reveal that its upcoming year of programming has been paused due to changes and challenged faced by the wider industry.

“The unprecedented challenges we are now facing as a sector and a society have radically shifted both La Mama’s operating environment and our broader cultural needs,” the theatre explained. “To face these challenges with agency and optimism, we need stories that connect us, that inspire collective action and offer a training ground for possibility.

“La Mama is uniquely placed to make these stories for the future possible, galvanising artists and audiences alike by harnessing our position as the heartland of Australian independent theatre. However, significant change is required for us to do this work.“

Fittingly, their OUR NEXT ACT fundraising campaign is designed to ensure La Mama’s next act is a fruitful one which positions them to continue operating in a manner aligned with their ethos and vision.

As per their statement, La Mama explains that all donations raised before the end of the year “will support a strategic restructure”, including the building of new partnerships and sustainable income streams; streamlining operations and improving organisational infrastructure; and reenergising artist support and development, “making it more relevant to current and future need”.

“We will use this time to find permanent solutions that guarantee our survival and independence, so we can meet the needs of our audiences, communities, and society at large for the next 60 years and beyond,” they explain.

The campaign, which has been launched with Creative Australia, is open now for all donations to be made. Any donation above $300 will also receive a special limited edition pack of ten La Mama vintage poster gift cards.

This isn’t the first time that La Mama has been forced to suspend operations in pursuit of ensuring its future, with a devastating fire ripping through the venue in 2018. La Mama reopened in 2021, continuing to operate at its full capabilities ever since.

Their current Spring season will wrap up on December 15th, with a tribute to Jack Hibberd (who launched the first production at the theatre) scheduled for December 19th.