Albany 2026: THEATRE 180 set to bring Albany’s bicentenary stories to life on stage in September

Albany’s past is stepping into the spotlight as THEATRE 180 turns years of local yarns, memories and music into a vibrant stage production — Our Place: Rain Or Shine — for the city’s bicentenary.

Theatre 180 are a Perth-based theatre team that have been engaging audiences with their WA drama productions for the past 30 years.

The show will combine visual backdrops, soundscapes, professional actors, and members of the Albany community in a heartfelt celebration of Albany’s identity — past, present and imagined.

Theatre 180 artistic director Stuart Halusz said they started working on the production three years ago, gathering residents’ stories to turn into a bicentenary masterpiece.

“We’ve conducted over 150 oral history interviews,” he said.

“This has been a long-term history project where we spent the last three years or so recording oral histories with local Albany residents and people who have grown up in Albany, gathering stories about people’s connection to the place.”

Halusz said the idea of the production was to highlight the different cultures that made the Albany community what it was today.

“It’s a multicultural and intergenerational project which bridges all different demographics, ages and cultures,” he said.

“It recognises that Albany today in 2026 is very much an amalgamation of lots of different people from different times going right back to Indigenous Menang people who’ve been here for thousands of years, right up to the more recent arrivals to Albany.

“We’ve also undergone a great deal of research into archival material and stories from 200 years ago and beyond to put together a play which commemorates the spirit of Albany and the place that it is and the people who live here.”

Last weekend the Theatre 180 group spent time with Albany’s local artists to compose a theme song for the show.

“We’ve come down to Albany to work with local singers, a local community choir and other performers to the get the theme song for the play,” Halusz said.

“We’re here to record the themes because for every show that we create, we also compose and record a bespoke theme song using local musicians.”

Hausz said creating this production had been an enjoyable process and he was excited about bringing the show together.

“I’m excited because it has been such a long project and it’s been so enriching for us as a theatre company and as artists and as people to meet so many people, talk to them, gather stories to really embed ourselves in the lifeblood and spirit of Albany,” he said.

“To be in that moment where we start rehearsing and bringing it all together and then share it with audiences, that really is the most exciting part.”

Rehearsals for the show are starting in August, with the production officially showing on September 25 at the Albany Entertainment Centre.

Tickets are available on the Albany Entertainment Centre website.