• Drama teacher Kate O’Malley and budding thespians Amelie Croci and Tom Selman.

VICTORIA HALL in Fremantle is finally getting some live theatre back.

Almost a decade after Deckchair’s final curtain, Loud and Victorious have scored a gig running youth drama classes in the hall’s main theatre space.

The hall is currently leased to Spacemarket after Fremantle council unsuccessfully put it on the market last year.

Loud and Victorious drama teacher Kate O’Malley said the emphasis would be on fun and creativity, saying school drama classes could sometimes get bogged down in theory and assignments.

“It’s a community drama class for kids to express themselves in an artistic and dramatic way and to really grow in their abilities,” she said.

Ms O’Malley has 12 years’ experience teaching in high school, but her love of drama started earlier when she took after-school classes with Gerry Atkinson; one of his proteges was Rove McManus.

“I want the kids to be collaborating, having fun and dealing with community issues. They might be interested in homelessness, or they might be interested in doing a play about Covid or about recycling, or about indigenous Australian issues,” she said.

Ms O’Malley said kids were craving personal interaction after the Covid lockdown.

“Just to be able to engage with each other on a face-to-face creative platform I think will be really good for them.”

She’s running free classes on Monday July 20 and Wednesday July 22 from 4.30-5.30pm and after gauging interest will work out a term program, which will end in a public performance.

by STEVE GRANT