Theatre Royal 2020: Inside Marta Dusseldorp, Ben Winspear’s new Hobart show

Tasmania’s newest theatre producers, actors Marta Dusseldorp and Ben Winspear, will present their first play under the Archipelago Productions banner at the Theatre Royal’s Studio Theatre in Hobart

Movie star Marta Dusseldorp and her husband, director Ben Winspear, who have together founded a new, Hobart-based screen and stage company. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

ACTOR Marta Dusseldorp says she was blown away by her first visit to Hobart’s new Studio Theatre, currently under construction within the Hedberg arts complex.

She was touring the site in the lead-up to her first performance there, as part of the Theatre Royal’s 2020 season, in the acclaimed Australian play The Bleeding Tree, by Angus Cerini.

“The state-of-the-art space blew my mind when we walked in,” says Dusseldorp, an Australian film, television and stage actor known for her roles in shows such as A Place to Call Home and Jack Irish, among others.

“It’s so stunningly beautiful. We are so lucky to be one of the three Tasmanian companies opening this space as a co-producer with Blue Cow Theatre.”

Dusseldorp and her husband Ben Winspear, a nationally acclaimed Tasmanian playwright, actor and theatre director, are the state’s newest theatre producers, through their screen and stage company, Archipelago Productions.

The Bleeding Tree is the couple’s first show together under the Archipelago banner. They hope it is the first of many they’ll make in Tasmania, in collaboration with other theatre professionals and companies.

The play is considered one of the most important Australian theatre texts of the past decade and has won numerous awards.

“Our intention is to bring quality productions of some of the best writing the country has to offer to Tasmanian audiences, writing that is contemporary, original and relevant, that pushes the form, and has been recognised for its bravery and urgency,” Winspear says. “The Bleeding Tree is formally inventive and has inspired audiences to view the theatre as a place of agitation and exploration.”

A revenge drama about violence against women, written in a brutal and hilariously grotesque style, The Bleeding Tree “goes beyond a night at the theatre”, says Dusseldorp. “For us, theatre is that. It’s burrowing in and examining and piercing taboos.”

While now based in Hobart with their two children, Winspear and Dusseldorp will combine their local theatre and screen work with work commitments elsewhere (Dusseldorp stars as Hester in the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Deep Blue Sea, opening in February).

The couple is excited about the potential to work collaboratively with other theatre professionals and provide mentoring and upskilling opportunities in Tasmania.

“People have been incredibly welcoming. What we are trying to do is fling the doors open really wide,” Dusseldorp says. “We will only know that it’s worked if people turn up, so the responsibility is shared. We are inviting people to come and join in.”

The Bleeding Tree, May 8-16, at the Studio Theatre. Tickets are available at theatreroyal.com.au