Ten years ago - In 2015 - bAKEHOUSE was approached by Solotel to build and launch a theatre across level 2 of KX Hotel. Within a month we gutted the room, built the traverse space, and opened the doors to our first season. The first season in the Cross featured work from bAKEHOUSE Theatre, Priscilla Jackman, Kate Gaul and Siren Theatre, Michael Dean & Lies Lies & Propaganda, Tooth & Sinew theatre, Rachel Chant and Shane Bosher, Saro Lusty-Cavallari and the newly launched Montague Basement. We programmed 10 world premieres. There were 7 women-led seasons, as well as the Invisible Circus – an entire festival centring the work of women. Our StoryLines programming found a home in the Cross with the bakehouse season of Black Jesus, a cast that included Dorion Nkono and the professional debut of Elijah Williams, international partnerships with Mumbai-based companies and NFPs for Jatinga, and The Laden Table written by a team of Mulsim, Jewish and Catholic women went into development.
2024 was the first full year of programming at KXT on Broadway. It’s almost impossible to imagine that 18 months ago we were moving from our home in the Cross, and even more difficult to imagine that in 2025 – this year, our 10th year of operation – we would have built a new home for independent theatre. But here we are. So this year is our 10th birthday. We’ll have a big party at Broadway somewhere in the middle of the year, but mostly we’ll celebrate by continuing to do what we love: supporting emerging and early career artists working alongside experienced professionals; programming and supporting the development of the best new Australian writing; inviting artists into our cool bank that’s now a theatre and welcoming people into the bottleneck bar
Trishala Sharma in JATINGA
We’ll dig through the records at some point and come up with the actual numbers, however we can say that thousands of artists have worked on the KXT stage since its inception in 2015. And hundreds of artists who began their careers here, learning the lessons that can only be learned in the cauldron of production, are now working at STC, Belvoir, Griffin, ensemble, Malthouse, Melbourne Theatre Co, and as far afield as Punchdrunk in the UK. While we’re not claiming credit for all of their successes, we are certainly proud to have been able to offer support, guidance and pathways to so many along the way.
Every year we take a minute to look back before we move forward. This is where we’ll often talk numbers – and they’re good numbers: almost 15,000 people through the doors; 220 artists supported at KXT on Broadway on the stage; an additional 118 artists working in the KXT Vault as part of our Artist Support programs; that’s just shy of 340 artists this year; 47% of the season led by Artists of Colour; 80% were women-led seasons; 10 shows in the season were world premieres of new Australian writers and 7 of those were women playwrights; 16 weeks of free rehearsal space to companies; 92% capacity averaged across all seasons (shoutout to the couple of sold out seasons that nudged that figure so high!); 54% of the season had more than 12 artists working on the project
They’re good numbers and they help tell the story of the 2024 season. But this year there’s one number we’re especially proud of:
$232,932
That’s the income generated by work at KXT that went to artists.
And another number $205,000
That’s the financial investment from bAKEHOUSE into work on the Broadway stage: or approx. $5k per week, averaging $15k per season.
Shoutout to the 17 producers who rolled the dice on ticket sales, investing their own cash to get shows onto the stage. Producing work is a labour of love – more so in the indie sector where many producers are forgoing fees, working long late hours, and finagling schedules, budgets and timelines, to get their passion projects in front of an audience. The 2024 season saw 8 new producing companies working at KXT on Broadway for the first time, programmed alongside experienced companies like Secret House and White Box theatre.
Roshelle Fong in NOMNOMNOM
Making art is expensive. But the value it delivers cannot be under estimated: the communities that have been supported; the people whose stories have been told; the audiences who have left changed a little or a lot; the laughter at difficult times… theatre is a crucible for change for good. It’s the home of big ideas and conversations, and at Broadway we’ve been honoured to be a part of that.
KXT on Broadway is now home to multiple value-adding Artist programs: the Vault at KXT; Storytellers Festival; KXT Crossroads events; bAKEHOUSE Residencies; step Up mentoring, the laboratory; and StoryLines. Each year we program new work that comes through our Artist Support programs and we’re proud to say that when you’re programmed at KXT you become part of a fresh and exciting community of artists delivering new Australian work
We want to highlight the residency program. Previous work supported through the bAKEHOUSE Residency program includes: Symphonie Fantastique by the Little Eggs Collective led by Mathew Lee and Julia Robertson; U.B.U. by Tooth and Sinew led by Richard Hilliar; Hubris & Humiliation by Lewis Treston led by Rily Spadaro and Pheobe Pilcher; The Italians by Danny Ball led by Danny Ball, Thomas D’Angelis and Emma O’Sullivan; dog by Shayne; DIWA by Jordan Shea; Mercury Poisoning by Madeleine Stedman; and much more. Our 2024 program at Broadway featured 4 seasons of work that had come through the Residency program. So in 2024 we opened the door wider and welcomed in 20 teams for development. Through January, we invited them upstairs for a showcase season, with a free program of readings and works in progress currently playing. We’ll be announcing our callout for the residency program shortly, alongside a few other opportunities, so keep an eye on socials or subscribe to the eNews for all the latest.
Over the years bAKEHOUSE has been supported at KXT by a slew of other indie companies. In 2025 CrissCross Productions the company Emily & Charlie Vaux run together will continue their work at KXT, alongside kwento, Legit and Montague Basement. Standby for news of more exciting partnerships through 2025
Our thanks also go to Saro Lusty-Cavallari for managing and heading up the Laboratory program; venue staff Lily, Ziggy, Aaron, Charlie, Bill and Emily; Sophie Parker who saved our lighting bacon a few times; and Joanna Erskine for her ongoing work in the Storytellers season, back in 2025, and the bAKEHOUSE Board Renee, Matthew, Steve, Andrew and Michael
bAKEHOUSE at KXT in the Cross: John Harrison, Suzanne Millar, Andrew McMartin
