Milk Crate Theatre is a joint project between Wesley Mission’s Edward Eagar Lodge, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, and Sydney’s homeless and disadvantaged community.

Since 1999 Milk Crate Theatre has entertained, empowered and instilled confidence by creating staged performances from the stories and experiences of Sydney’s homeless and disadvantaged people. Professional actors work with the clients of Edward Eagar Lodge to create a unique, profound and very enjoyable night of theatre for everyone.

The highlight of Milk Crate Theatre performances are that they are interactive and allow the audience to take control of the action. On a performance night, the feature event of the evening is a rehearsed drama which is performed by professional actors from Darlinghurst Theatre Company. The inspiration for the performance piece comes from the real life story of someone who visits or lives at Edward Eagar Lodge, a crisis accommodation centre. After the story is presented by the actors, the audience can throw suggestions that change the plot and ultimately the outcome of the story, making new decisions for the main character. Audience members can also join the actors on stage and play out their own, or someone else’s, suggestion.

The Milk Crate Project was created to provide disadvantaged members of our community with a live theatre experience, an opportunity to voice their own story and recognise positive life choices. Through the friendly atmosphere of the performance night, participants are encouraged to look at life situations objectively. The value of this is that it can be confronting without being confrontational, making it a powerful tool for change. This style of theatre is loosely based on Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. A political activist and theatre director, Boal created this improvisational style of theatre to inspire the people living in poor or 'slum' areas to rise up against racial and class inequality, and engage the common man in debate and resolution of issues that concerned him/her. This concept is encapsulated in this quote from Boal which also serves to explain the value of Milk Crate Theatre; “Theatre can act as a rehearsal ground for the outside world, giving oppressed people skills to deconstruct, re-think and articulate their point of view and generally communicate for themselves”.

Open Drama Workshops are also run by a professional teacher from Darlinghurst Theatre for the three weeks leading up to the performance night. These workshops are offered so that clients of Edward Eagar Lodge can learn devising and storytelling skills, building confidence in performing so they may be able to be more involved in the action on performance night. In the last year or so, keen and committed members of these workshops have been presenting their own short performances to the audience. Initially this was based on the life and adventures of Edward Eagar the historical character, creating a short, but hilarious, ‘Edward Eagar Show’ to warm up the audience.

Members of the wider community are invited and encouraged to attend the performance nights. Milk Crate Theatre is an exceptional forum to debate and break down the barriers and misconceptions between the homeless and the wider inner city community. It is the perfect place to foster understanding of the varying and tragic circumstances which often lead to homelessness, and the choices and challenges faced along the way. Indeed, Milk Crate Theatre is at its best when there are many differing perspectives to put into the melting pot of a fantastic and interactive night of theatre. Ruth Polley, one of the founders of Milk Crate Theatre can be quoted as saying, “..the things that should never change are the telling of these valuable stories in an environment that is accessible to homeless and disadvantaged groups, that invite the general public to meet with them there – connecting often disparate communities with understanding and warmth."

This is the success of Milk Crate Theatre.

-Elyse Patten