Live theatre is returning to the Coast in spectacular form with Laycock Street Community Theatre announcing an exceptional line-up of performers for its 2021 season.

Coasties and visitors can rediscover the joy of live performance with an incredible array of shows – from Hot Autumn Nights (Tim Freedman of The Whitlams) and James Morrison Quintet to the Victorian State Ballet’s Little Mermaid and Newk (The John Newcombe Story).

Central Coast Council Director Community and Recreation Services, Julie Vaughan said Laycock Street is ready to accommodate the strong appetite for quality shows on the Coast.

“We’ve been starved of live theatre for nearly 12 months and it’s so exciting to once again welcome incredible artists to perform on the Coast,” Ms Vaughan said.

“Laycock is an incredible live theatre venue – it combines quality with an undeniable energy and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house.”

Council Administrator, Dick Persson AM said Laycock Street is a vital component of the Coast’s thriving arts scene.

“It is impressive to see a community theatre attract such a strong line-up of performers and I encourage locals and visitors to take advantage.”

Laycock Street Community Theatre’s 2021 line-up includes:

Hot Autumn Nights – Tim Freedman

• Snapshot: Experience Tim Freedman’s (The Whitlams) trademark mix of cabaret and rock in his own sardonic style. Tim will bring a grand piano and preview three more songs from The Whitlams' forthcoming album Gaffage and Clink and also premiere reworkings of some of his favourite tracks from Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Randy Newman.
• Date: Friday 12 March, 2021
• Time: 7.30pm
• Cost: $53.95

The Gruffalo's Child

• Snapshot: If you loved The Gruffalo, don't miss the sequel, which returns following previous sell-out Australian tours. Join The Gruffalo’s Child on her adventurous mission in this magical musical adaptation of the much-loved picture book.
• Date: Sunday 28 and Monday 29 March 2021
• Times: 12pm and 2pm (28 March), 10am (29 March)
• Cost: Schools $15 / Child $20 / Adult $25

Brass Monkeys

• Snapshot: Brass Monkeys celebrates kids who march to the beat of their own drum. Bursting with high calibre acrobatics, a ton of comedy, live music and high flying tricks, this show is perfect for little kids and grown-ups who like a big brass belly laugh!
• Date: Thursday 8 April, 2021
• Time: 10am and 1pm
• Cost: All tickets $15

Victorian State Ballet – Little Mermaid

• Snapshot: The Victorian State Ballet proudly presents The Little Mermaid in a full length magical classical ballet production! Come and see the magnificent and colourful costumes, sets and props together with the outstanding skill, artistry and technique of the artists of the Victorian State Ballet.
• Date: Saturday 1 May and Sunday 2 May, 2021
• Time: 2pm both days
• Cost: Adult $40.00 / Concession $36.00 / Child $25.00

The Alphabet of Awesome

• Snapshot: Join professors Lexi Con and Noel Edge (the Word Nerd and the Science Freak) for a thrilling voyage through the alphabet – where great big chewy sesquipedalian words inspire mind-blowing scientific surprises.
• Date: Tuesday 6 July 2021
• Time: 10am and 1pm
• Cost: All tickets $15

JUST! Live

• Snapshot: JUST! Live takes on the wonderful world of the JUST books by Andy Griffiths, vividly and hilariously bringing them to life on the stage with everything from invisibility pills and Mudmen, to vomiting dogs and death defying balloon rides.
• Date: Sunday 22 and Monday 23 August 2021
• Time: 2pm (22 August) and 10am (23 August)
• Cost: Schools $18 / Child $20 / Adult $25

Newk (The John Newcombe Story)

• Snapshot: NEWK (The John Newcombe Story) traces the life of the great Australian tennis champion of the 1960s and 70s, John Newcombe. Set in 2014 at Newk’s 70th birthday in Sydney, Newcombe’s journey travels from naïve 1960s schoolboy, to the No 1 player in the world in the 1970s, to his time as Davis Cup Captain, to the stroke he suffered in 2003.
• Date: Sunday 5 September 2021
• Time: 4pm
• Cost: All Tickets $20

Girls on Tap

• Snapshot: A high energy, theatrical tap show celebrating women and female empowerment throughout the ages. The ladies of Girls On Tap multi-task (of course) live on stage – whether they are dancing, singing, tapping and playing the piano at the same time or using their daily hair care routine to tap out fun rhythms with a can of hair spray and a hair brush.
• Date: Saturday 18 September 2021
• Time: 7pm
• Cost: Adult $40 /Conc $36 / Child $25

FoRT

• Snapshot: FoRT is full of ridiculous clowning, spectacular acrobatics, poetic visual imagery and celebrates the kind of creative genius that has been known to turn lounge rooms into volcanoes, trees into castles and cardboard boxes into racing cars.
• Date: Thursday 30 September, 2021
• Time: 10am and 7pm
• Cost: Adult $25 / Child $20

James Morrison Quintet

• Snapshot: Join us for an afternoon of jazz with multi-instrumentalist James Morrison. Performing for one show only, this intimate concert is an exceptional opportunity to experience one of Australia's most talented and versatile jazz musicians.
• Date: Saturday 27 November 2021
• Time: 4pm
• Cost: Adult $60 / Conc. $55 / Groups 6+, Child, Student $50

Find more information and book tickets at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/theatres