Rehearsals for ‘The Trouble With Leo’ written by Bruce Hunt-Hughes are going well.
Violet Town’s Bruce Hunt-Hughes, buoyed into action by a recent cancer scare, decided it was time to realise a lifelong dream.
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That was to produce a play he began writing more than 30 years ago after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
The result is the upcoming performances of The Trouble With Leo on September 10, 11, 12 and 13.
Long before a cast and crew were put together, Bruce put a call out through local arts group the Violet Town Art, Music and Performance Collective.
He then began to share his acting skills with interested people within the local community, with what he called ‘Play Date for Actors’ as a regular event on the VAMP calendar.
People came from across the region and soon there was a vibrant collective of theatre-makers including professional actors, designers, lighting wizards, costume-makers, prop-makers, set-builders and stage managers.
They joined with a group of actors, some of whom had little or no previous experience, and some of whom had already accumulated an impressive list of theatre and TV credits, including Charmayne Lane.
Bruce Hunt-Hughes, pictured with fellow Benalla Short Film Festival judge Krista Vendy, has written a play that will debut in Violet Town in September. Photo: Rene Martens.
Word soon spread, and it became clear that a post-COVID tree-change had brought many new residents to Violet Town and surrounds.
Among those settling into the community were people with professional theatre experience, eager to share their skills with the already well-established creative community.
From costume design and set building to lighting and production, they gravitated to the Violet Town Hall, where the energy of rehearsals has been growing.
Tickets are selling fast, with the production and the newly established Vamp Theatre capturing the imagination of audiences with its flair and small town creative abundance.
Bruce has been a regular on Australian TV, including A Country Practice, Blue Heelers, Halifax FP, Secret Life of Us,The Man from Snowy River, Edens Lost, Dirtwater Dynasty, Seachange and most recently, the Disney + series The Clearing.
Bruce is also a judge for the International Benalla Short Film Festival alongside Australian actress Krista Vendy.
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