Australia’s longest, non-funded continuously running professional theatre company, the Ensemble Theatre has received a major gift of $300,000 from The Balnaves Foundation.
“I and the entire team at Ensemble is absolutely thrilled by the huge generosity of Neil Balnaves and The Balnaves Foundation,” said Mark Kilmurry Artistic Director Ensemble Theatre. “Neil visited our theatre several months back then phoned to say he thought Ensemble was Sydney’s ‘best kept secret’.”
“He liked what we were doing, in particular performing the often confronting plays which we feel are important on so many levels to help make us think about our society and its people differently.”
“This gift is a huge boost to Ensemble Theatre and its actors, writers and all who are involved in our wonderful theatre. This generous gift will be utilised over 3 years on marketing, PR, and communications. Our ultimate aim is to reinforce the Ensemble’s place as a major and important theatre company in the Sydney where people can enjoy a varied and wide range of productions.”
“Ensuring that Australia has a flourishing arts sector is important to our national identity, our individual and collective health and our economy,” said Neil Balnaves, Chair The Balnaves Foundation. “The arts is the inception point for new ideas by helping us to stretch our imagination, stimulate our creativity, nourish our soul and help us process, change and make sense of the world around us.”
“Theatre is so much more than entertainment. Good theatre challenges our beliefs, helps us to empathise with others, looks at the problems we confront individually and as a society and helps us find solutions and ultimately better our lives. We wanted to support Ensemble because it does these very things so well. We want to see Ensemble grow, have its voice heard and help as many people as possible to benefit from what Ensemble does.” added Balnaves.
The Balnaves Foundation is a private philanthropic organisation established in 2006 by Neil Balnaves AO to provide support to charitable enterprises across Australia. Dispersing over $2.5 million annually, the Foundation supports eligible organisations that aim to create a better Australia through education, medicine and the arts with a focus on young people, the disadvantaged and Indigenous communities.
For more information, visit: www.ensemble.com.au for details.
Image: Ensemble Theatre (supplied)