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   Inglorious Bartletts   Obama Mia   Kevin 007  Diamond Nickers   Little Brighton   Big Brothel   Gone with the Windfall   Howard Potter & the Golden Snatch   Honey, I Shrunk The Libs   Moulin Rude   102 Dalmations   Bored Of The Rings   South Pork   The Full Mintie   Guilt Edged 50th Anniversary  Golden Nickers 50th Anniversary   Got Shorty   Forrest Stump   Ali Groom & the 40% Thieves   Strictly No Ballsgroom   Crook   Little State of Horrors   Children of a lesser Bob   Grays Miserables   Happy Birthday Terror Oztralis   Cane Toad Dundee   Hades Comment   Gray Busters   Phoney Buggers   Shades of Gray   Pro Rogues Gallery   The Shocking Hydro Show |
 Old Nick was created in unison with the first of its uni revues, Smokin’ Hot, in 1948, in an attempt to harness the student exuberance which had seen the annual Commemoration Days of several previous years degenerate into public chaos. The Student Representative Council (SRC) had previously approached the Professorial Board with a request to stage a revue but had been denied, but the Board relented after “Commem parades” associated with the annual degree presentation ceremonies brought public condemnation because of student behaviour.  To demonstrate that a student revue would be tasteful and would not cause further public outrage, a professional director and producer, Keith Jarvis, was approached to take on the task. Keith directed the first twelve revues before students took on the production side of the Company as well as the committee and performing duties. The name Old Nick Company satirised the highly memorable Australian tour by the Old Vic Company starring Laurence Olivier and Vivienne Leigh, with luminaries such as Peter Cushing in the ensemble. The devil was adopted as the logo, as “Old Nick” has for centuries been a colloquial reference to Satan.  While the company was originally based on campus, with limited and primitive office and wardrobe facilities, it has grown to the point that it now operates out of an extensive wardrobe/workshop/rehearsal/administration facility in North Hobart, which is also used by other theatre companies for set-building, rehearsal and wardrobe purposes. The earliest revues were staged at either the Playhouse or the Theatre Royal for two or three-night seasons; these days a revue has a 14-night season at the Theatre Royal followed by a five-night season at Launceston’s Princess Theatre. Annual activities originally involved a revue, several lunchtime play readings at uni, and an entry in the national Festival of University Drama. Since then the company has grown to stage up to six major productions a year, in venues throughout Hobart and at festivals throughout the State. In many cases these productions have been Tasmanian or world premieres, such as the 2003 production of When A Man Knows, two of its 2008 productions, Brassed Off! and Hollow Ground, and the successful Who Knows in February 2009. 
 Highlights over the years will vary according to an individual member’s perception, but certainly the Golden Anniversary dinner ten years ago and 2008’s Diamond Anniversary dinner were wonderful occasions which brought lots of old friends together. Several members of the original 1948 revue – Smokin’ Hot – attended the company’s Diamond Anniversary dinner on July 5, 2008 – Barbara Hamilton, Betty Rockliff, Vona Beiers, Bob O’Conor and Bill Howroyd. It is highly unlikely that those students who first donned drag and kicked up their heels in 1948 could have imagined that they were part of what would become a Tasmanian institution. The Uni Revue is infamous – but it is also the financial backbone of the Company which enables other theatre to be produced. A conservatively estimated 600,000 people have sat in audiences to see Old Nick shows since 1948 and there are many, many thousands who have been part of the Company at some stage in their lives. The Old Nick Company 50a Letitia Street, North Hobart, TAS, 7000 Ph : (03) 6234 7080 Web : www.oldnick.org.au |
   Buy Elections   Supermal   New Clear Nickers   Malice in Blunderland   Karmel Knowledge   Ferry Tales   Goughspell   The Silver Nickers Show   In The Nick Of Time   Dam It All   Over-Cooked   Frood   Casinova   The Riot Act   Strike Me Lucky   Infra-Dig   Vote No   Sin Til Eight   Fred   High Sobriety   Beet Nick   Fowl Play   Fast 'N' Lucifer   Haughty Culture   Harem Scarem   Shy Knees   Royal Routine   Gown 'N' Gout   Unicorn   Nuts In May   White Hot   Red Hot   Smokin' Hot |