The producer of a musical based on the events of the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 says Canberra will miss out on the show's premiere and has criticised the government's arts funding model.
Jay James-Moody said he wanted to rehearse and premiere The Dismissal in Canberra, but the Canberra Theatre Centre could not agree to provide the necessary funding.
"I'm kind of a bit disappointed beyond measures. I really thought this was going to be an absolute slam dunk for Canberra, particularly having read the [arts] statement ambition the government had put out," Mr James-Moody said.
But a spokeswoman for the ACT government said while the Canberra Theatre Centre agreed there was artistic merit in the musical, the "risks of the model as currently proposed were not able to be appropriately mitigated".
Mr James-Moody said it was frustrating government arts funding frequently went to commercial producers staging international productions rather than taking chances on locally developed shows.
"This could have been a real conversation starter about what Australian work is capable of, and it will be, it just won't be in Canberra anymore. I think that's going to be really cause for regret," he said.
"What seems to have happened is there's just a completely overweighting of funding to infrastructure rather than actual arts projects. That's really painful as an artist when you're trying to go out of your way to align with government."
Mr James-Moody, who runs not-for-profit Squabbalogic Independent Music Theatre, said he had sought half of the money needed to reproduce the musical, which would have a total cost of up to $1.8 million.
The Dismissal was staged for a trial run in 2019 at Sydney's Seymour Centre, with discussions between the Canberra Theatre Centre and Sydney Theatre Company before the start of the COVID pandemic.
The Sydney Theatre Company is no longer involved in the project.
An ACT government spokeswoman said the Canberra Theatre Centre had partnered with the Sydney Theatre Company to develop The Dismissal, but the Canberra performances were cancelled due to COVID and the Sydney Theatre Company chose not to to continue with the production.
"The CTC welcomes more than 150 different productions and events each year, and considers a great many more proposals and opportunities in the normal course of business," the spokeswoman said.
The Canberra Theatre Centre does provide funding towards some productions, while others use the theatre under a venue-for-hire model.
Mr James-Moody said he had been interested in moving the production to Canberra, which could have supported up to 30 local crew working on the show.
Governor-general Sir John Kerr controversially sacked prime minister Gough Whitlam on November 11, 1975, after rejecting Whitlam's proposal for a half Senate election to break a stalemate over his government's supply bills.
"I think it's a pretty theatrical concept because it has these larger than life characters. There's almost like a Shakespearean or Greek tragedy element to it - it's already a theatrical story, to then add music to it is just a little bit of a cherry on top," Mr James-Moody said.
Arts Minister Tara Cheyne remains confident the territory can attract producers of original theatre work to Canberra.
"The [Canberra Theatre Centre] is working with a range of state theatre companies and arts centres, as well as local independent artists, universities, and internationally recognised Australian arts organisations on many collaborations destined to be welcomed by Canberra audiences over the forthcoming years," the spokeswoman said.
"For example, the world premiere of Julia ... is a collaboration between Sydney Theatre Company and the CTC."
The spokeswoman said the economics for theatre producers in the ACT had been limited by current facilities and capacity, but the planned redevelopment of the Canberra Theatre Centre would address these issues.
Mr James-Moody said it was frustrating the government was spending a large amount of money on feasibility work for the new theatre rather than providing direct support to artists.
"It's almost insulting to put $30 million into planning and consultation that goes to an accounting company for a potential theatre," he said.
"You don't even get a theatre at the end of it, you get a report."
The latest ACT budget earmarked $28.44 million for design and consultation work as part of the overhaul of the Canberra Theatre Centre and Civic Square.
The government has long been committed to building a new theatre for Canberra.
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