Good People

"It's true. People are going to the beach. They're on holiday. They're elsewhere," says Whitely, reflecting on the notorious aversion Melbourne audiences have to spending their summer evenings in overheated theatrettes. "People have been away from the theatre and they'd probably go to the cinema first, because it's cooler. Or they're going to the Sydney Festival, if they've got any sense."

But having said that, Whitely believes that if a company chooses wisely, there's no reason it can't start the year with a hit. "People are so starved of entertainment, because the movies by late-January and February have gotten so bland, you can actually make a mark." He cites Red Stitch's February 2010 hit Ruben Guthrie as an example.

His tip is to start the year with something a bit more commercial, to ease audiences back into the live experience. "It's a good time of year to offer up something more about character."

The Tony Award-winning Good People, by David Lindsay Abaire, certainly ticks the "commercial" box, but it also engages in some serious character studies. It focuses on Margie, a single mother living in a poor area of Boston, and her affair with a married doctor who has managed to escape the poverty of his upbringing.

"It's about income inequality. It asks a number of really basic questions, such as 'What is a good person?' and 'Can you afford morals when you're not doing so well?' The answers it offers are very ambiguous."

Whitely believes that a recent Broadway success like Good People will help to stimulate audience interest after the holiday lull, but is there anything else companies do to lure back theatregoers from the beach?

"Well, we're upgrading our air-conditioning," says Whitely. "It's going to cost six grand all up, but the difference will be noticeable. We're also pulling out all the stops to get our matinee liquor licence before the season opening, so there'll always be cold beer."