Fremantle Theatre Company

It was a stroke of good luck that international star Kate Walsh of Grey's Anatomy fame ended up starring in the performance after being stuck in Perth for most of 2020 due to COVID travel restrictions.

"We led with the notion of being small, smart and nimble," Renato tells Lost in Fremantle. "One of the greatest things about theatre is its immediacy."

A WAAPA graduate in acting and NIDA postgraduate in directing, Fabretti grew up in Perth's southern suburbs and went on to become Artistic Director of the WA Youth Theatre Company and Camelot Arts. He's also graced the small screen playing 'Chopper' Read in Underbelly 2 and appearing on TV hit, All Saints, during a stint living in Sydney.

Returning to Perth, he witnessed his beloved arts scene take a hit with the loss of Fremantle's Deckchair Theatre (where Renato had his first production as a WAAPA grad), and then the Perth Theatre Company closing in 2016. Both events inspired Renato to reinvigorate independent theatre in Western Australia.

"There's been a gap for a while. I was looking for a way to invest in my hometown and in our arts community while putting artists to work in Freo and bringing audiences in," Renato says. "I wanted to launch a theatre company in WA that could offer an alternative perspective and offer some new shows."

Fremantle Theatre Company calls home the 126-year-old Victoria Hall, which holds a maximum of 200 guests per show enabling intimate performances where actors and the audience can get up close and personal. "It's just the right size for the number of people in the audience so we can keep it intimate. It's pretty electric," he says. "It's a form of theatre where the artists and the audience members are so close together that they can actually share. That's what makes us a bit unique and what we love to see fostered."

2021 was another busy year with the international debut of Meat, a play about sexual consent, featuring new, emerging talent, that was critically well-received and a ticket sell-out.

Now with the troops latest production, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Renato has revitalised a much-loved theatre favourite. The show is being toured around WA's southwest (Margaret River, Bunbury, Albany) via performances in Fremantle's new Walyalup Koort square and Kings Park as part of the annual Perth arts series, Shakespeare in the Park.

"It's been a big commitment for a small company to do an outdoor show that goes to six locations, but we're very proud of it," Renato says. "We played through the rain in Albany to a crowd that was not afraid of getting wet or cold and had standing ovations there. We've just done Fremantle, and it felt like the Berlin Fringe with concerts on the square [Walyalup Koort] and a gig on the Esplanade to a captive audience. It's been wonderfully embraced by the best audiences. It's been amazing!"

As for the future, the focus is on sharing stories to and from all parts of WA, even though the Company call Fremantle home. "We're local yet we've shown that we're interested in people in the regions by taking shows to them. We are connected to people who have stories to tell, and Fremantle is a place to harness those. But it's not the only place our voices will come from in the future," Renato adds.

There are plans to create workshops for budding performers alongside new performances. "I'm looking forward to telling stories that intersect with these communities that helped build the city but also the communities that are there now and the ones that are changing and emerging," he notes.

Look out for upcoming performances by Fremantle Theatre Company in March as part of the Perth Festival.

Photo credit: Fremantle Theatre Company