Monkey Baa celebrates the extraordinary contribution of Eva Di Cesare to Australian theatre for young people
Eva Di Cesare has announced that she will conclude her tenure as co-founder and Artistic Director of Monkey Baa Theatre Company at the end of 2027, the year the company celebrates its 30th anniversary. The company today pays tribute to her work shaping theatre for young people across Australia.
Di Cesare co-founded Monkey Baa in 1997 with Sandra Eldridge and Tim McGarry, on one fierce conviction: that every young person should have access to theatre of real ambition, work that is complex, thoughtful and profoundly moving. That conviction still defines the company today.
Di Cesare is renowned for adapting Australia's best-loved children's literature for the stage, and for the depth and care of her practice. She has adapted or co-adapted more than 20 productions, among them Possum Magic, Edward the Emu, Diary of a Wombat, Where the Streets Had a Name and the acclaimed Where is the Green Sheep?. She has also championed new Australian writing, commissioning work such as Yong by Jenevieve Chang and Detention by Callan Purcell and Kobra Sayyadi, and has built national capacity through the Penny Cook Creative Associates program.
Where is the Green Sheep? carries that legacy now, touring to 89 communities across Australia, where it will be seen by more than 150,000 young people and families.
Under Di Cesare's leadership, Monkey Baa has reached more than 1.8 million children and families in every state and territory and internationally, building deep and lasting relationships across regional and remote Australia, and creating work recognised with Helpmann, Glug, Sydney Theatre and Drover Awards. That young people belong at the centre of the work, not only as audiences but as co-creators, has been Eva's conviction throughout.
Di Cesare said: "Monkey Baa has been the work of my life, but it has never been mine alone. The company lives in its people and the relationships they hold, with artists, with schools, with communities across the country. That is what will carry it forward. I step away at the end of 2027 knowing the company is not losing its story, only beginning a new chapter of it."
Di Cesare plans to create one final work for Monkey Baa before she concludes her tenure. Details to be announced in due course.
Board Chair Professor Judith McLean said: "Eva Di Cesare is one of the most significant artistic leaders this country has produced for young people. For 30 years she has made work of extraordinary heart and rigour and insisted that children have every right to our very best. On behalf of the Board, the artists, the staff and the whole Monkey Baa community, I thank Eva for her profound contribution and her remarkable leadership."
Executive Director Kevin du Preez said: "Working alongside Eva over the past five years, dreaming and shaping a future for children's theatre, has been the highlight of my career. I am in awe of her, and deeply grateful that she brought me into her fold. Her belief in others runs just as deep, in the countless artists she has mentored and the new voices she has made room for."
Professor McLean added: "As we look toward our 30th year, we do so with deep respect for everything Eva has built and real confidence in what lies ahead. Our planning is well advanced, with new work and touring already in development. The Board is committed to a thoughtful and well-governed transition that honours her contribution and keeps children at the centre of everything we do."
Monkey Baa has been planning deliberately for this transition. Rather than moving straight to recruitment, the company is evolving its artistic framework. This work will lay the foundations for the recruitment of a new Artistic Director, which will begin in 2027.
Monkey Baa is grateful to everyone who has shared Eva’s journey: the funders, supporters and donors, the families and young audiences, and the presenters, artists and staff who made it possible. Above all, the company thanks Eva Di Cesare, whose belief that children have the right to our very best has shaped a company, an artform and the lives of countless young people.
Hero image: Photo by Robert Catto
