Hello! We’re Monkey Baa
For thousands of young people, our shows will be their first time at the theatre; so, we make sure it's a moment they'll never forget. A story they will never forget.
Our work
We are based in Sydney and Brisbane, but the road is our home…on the way to a theatre near you.
Young people at the heart
We have deep respect for young people as our audience of now, not just into the future. We love working together to inform everything we do, including co-creating some of our most creative moments.
The challenge
But…we have a problem! Not every young person is experiencing these benefits. Because of where they live, money and other barriers, many are missing out. That’s why Monkey Baa is directing our impact to change this.
Our history
Monkey Baa was formed 24 years ago by Eva Di Cesare, Sandra Eldridge and Tim McGarry.
We premiered our first show, The Bugalugs Bum Thief adapted by Eva, Sandie and Tim, at Glen St Theatre.
We toured Worry Warts across Australia, bringing theatre to remote communities all over the country.
We moved into the Seymour Centre as a resident theatre company for seven years.
We developed a Learning program to support our touring productions and create arts education opportunities for young people across Australia.
We were awarded the Helpmann Award for Best Children’s Presentation for our adaptation of Hitler’s Daughter.
We were awarded the Helpmann Award for Best Children’s Presentation for our adaption of Thursday’s Child.
We toured Hitler’s Daughter to the United States.
We moved into the ARA Darling Quarter Theatre as a resident theatre company.
We premiered our adaptation of Goodbye, Jamie Boyd, exploring mental health and its impact on young people.
We reached 1,000,000 young people with our adaptation of Emily Eyefinger.
Eva, Tim and Sandie were awarded a Sydney Theatre Award for 20 Years of Excellence and Extraordinary Service to the Children and Young People of Australia.
We adapted Li Cunxin’s The Peasant Prince for the stage.
We toured The Unkown Soldier by Sandie Eldridge to the United States. Diary of a Wombat toured to 56 venues nationally.
We toured our adaptation of Josephine Wants to Dance to 49 venues across Australia.
Eva becomes sole Artistic Director, embodying our new creative direction of the company.
We established the Penny Cook Creative Associates Program in honour of the late Penny Cook, a dear friend and past-Chair of the company.
We toured Jenivieve Chang’s adaptation of Yong to regional Victoria, following a rich collaboration with the Chinese community of Ballarat.
We bid farewell to our cherished home, the ARA Darling Quarter Theatre, as we embark on an exciting new chapter, dedicating ourselves entirely to creating and producing exceptional theatre.
Company News
See AllSydney Theatre Awards - Yong
Glug Award, Possum Magic
Glug Award, Josephone Wants to Dance
Sydney Theatre Awards, Josephine Wants to Dance
Glug Award, Diary of a Wombat
Sydney Theatre Awards, Special Award for 20 Years of Excellence and Extraordinary Service to the Children and Young People of Australia
Drover Award – Tour of the Year The Peasant Prince
Sydney Theatre Awards – The Peasant Prince
Glug Award – The Peasant Prince
Drover Award – APACA Touring Legend
Glug Award – The Unknown Soldier
Glug Award – Pete the Sheep
Glug Award – The Unknown Soldier
Glug Award – Hitler’s Daughter
Helpmann Award – Thursday’s Child
Glug Award – FOX
Helpmann Award – Hitler’s Daughter
Drover Award – Touring Excellence
Drover Award – Audience Development