Hooray! SA’s Windmill Theatre brings first live stage show of Bluey to the worldSouth Australia’s Windmill Theatre Company is bringing the first live production of beloved Australian children’s series Bluey to the international stage as the second season of its popular children’s series Beep and Mort – supported by the Malinauskas Government – hits the screen.
Beginning with extensive touring across the US and Canada, Bluey’s Big Play is now making its international debut following a successful season in Australia.
It is set to premiere at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall next month ahead of an epic 30-venue tour across the United Kingdom and Ireland throughout 2024.
The live stage adaptation of Australia’s favourite canine family is directed and designed by Rosemary Myers and Johnathon Oxlade respectively, from Australia’s flagship children’s theatre production company Windmill Theatre Company, based in Adelaide.
Featuring an original story written by Bluey’s creator Joe Brumm, the production is presented by BBC Studios and Andrew Kay in association with QPAC’s Out of the Box and Windmill Theatre Company and brings LUDO’s global television phenomenon to life.
The second series of Windmill’s popular children’s television show, Beep and Mort also premiered on ABC Kids this morning.
The second season of the South Australian made and owned original series was the first to be funded through the Malinauskas Government’s $5.2 million ABC-SAFC Content Pipeline Fund delivered by the State Government to drive screen production in South Australia, create jobs and strengthen the state’s screen sector.
Beep and Mort is the first studio program for children made in the state in more than a decade.
Shot at the South Australian Film Corporation’s Adelaide Studios, Beep and Mort’s second season employed 168 cast, crew, and creatives throughout its development and production.
As put by Andrea Michaels
Everyone loves Bluey and it is so exciting to have South Australia’s own Windmill Theatre Company bringing the first live stage adaptation of the beloved children’s series to the world.
At the same time, we’re returning to Mollyvale with the second series of Windmill’s Beep and Mort, supported by the Malinauskas Government and filmed at the South Australian Film Corporation, now airing on ABC Kids and iView.
Windmill’s unique model combining stage and screen is building global audiences for South Australian stories and providing significant employment opportunities for our talented screen sector.
As put by Executive Director of Windmill Pictures, Kaye Weeks
It’s a busy and exciting time right now. Our Artistic Director, Rosemary Myers, is currently in the United Kingdom directing rehearsals for Bluey’s Big Play while back home we are madly preparing for the launch of our second series of Beep and Mort on ABC Kids.
So that’s a tv show adapted to a play and a play adapted to a tv show – on opposite sides of the globe, all at once! It’s a thrill to imagine so many kids experiencing original Australian work by our incredibly talented artists on stage as well as in their own loungerooms.
As put by Head of ABC Children & Family Content, Libbie Doherty
We can’t wait to share the second series of Beep and Mort with our ABC Kids audience. Our great thanks to the Windmill team, Beep and Mort again puts us all at the forefront of Children’s entertainment on screen.
We’re thrilled as the ABC to support Windmill and our continued development of the South Australian screen industry. Our special partnership with the SAFC enables us together to feature South Australians on home soil, and the global stage.
As put by CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation, Kate Croser
We were delighted to welcome Windmill Pictures to Adelaide Studios this year to film a second series of Beep and Mort. As a South Australian owned original series created and produced entirely in the state, Beep and Mort is a significant employer of local artists, performers and crew and a wonderful example of the huge depth of talent in the state’s screen sector.
We are thrilled to see it premiere as the first production to come from the ABC and SAFC’s new Content Pipeline Fund, leading an exciting new stream of quality South Australian TV series for ABC over the next three years.
The SAFC is proud to have supported Windmill’s move into screen production from their acclaimed first feature film Girl Asleep in 2015, and we are excited to see what comes next for Windmill Pictures.
