Our History

The Hills Family Show

1979

Venue

La Boite Theatre, Brisbane

Producer

La Boite Theatre

Cast

Sally McKenzie
Suzanne Marshall
Kim Theoharris
Jo Hardie
Kathleen Mahoney
Sean Mee
Doug Anderson
Chris Burns
Peter Penwarn
David Lord
David Pyle
Richard Fotheringham
Paul Haseler

Critic David Rowbotham loved The Hills Family Show: “I have not seen anything so madcap for years … Mock vaudeville, a goldmine of laughs, it is happening at La Boite Theatre. And it is a smash hit”.[i] The paying public agreed with Rowbotham with a 60% attendance rate. Not every critic liked it however.The Telegraph reviewer described it as “ridiculous in concept, thought and deed and no matter how hard some of the cast try, it continues to remain ridiculous and boring”.[ii]

Writer: Christine Comans

[i] The Courier-Mail, July 16, 1979.

[ii] The Telegraph, July16, 1979.

#Gallery

Time Off, 26 July 1979

The Courier Mail, 16 July 1979

The Telegraph, 16 July 1979

The Courier Mail, 19 July 1979
Sally McKenzie & Chris Burns

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#Tell us your story

I humbly suggest my name could be added to the cast, as the reference in the program to the show having two stage managers at La Boite was deliberately misleading. Each night, there was an 'unexpected vacancy' in the cast, and thus the local stage manager was given a chance to step into the limelight (and/or tapdance, juggle, and overact) on stage with the Hills Family.

—Paul Haseler

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