TRAVEL BLOG: JULES TAKES THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME
Jules Easlea, Venue Marketing Lead at Southend Theatres, recently went on the trip of a lifetime, which included a little visit to Trafalgar’s team in Sydney! She tells Ensemble all about her adventure.
In May 2026, on a trip to Australia I dropped in to meet the team at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. It would have been rude not to.
I got to sit down with Elise and Mia, the brilliant Marketing team and Houri, the GM. We had loads to talk about and I could have spent all day hearing from them about their audiences, the different ways we do things and the background to the way the theatre works today.
They gave me a tote bag full of Theatre Royal goodies including the Theatre Royal gin! I took Cliffs pens, notepads and travel cups – I definitely got the better deal!
Sophie and Tim took me round the building to see backstage, the event spaces and the auditorium. What a great venue. The rich red colour scheme everywhere felt very sophisticated and luxurious.
Backstage, the wall of fame with framed programmes from across the years was a surprise as it featured so many English shows from way back when: George and Mildred and Love Thy Neighbour to name just a couple. It was amazing to see these along with posters of Vincent Price and Mel Gibson in productions there.
They also showed me the ticket collection board which they had unearthed. See the above picture – once all the theatres in Sydney would have put their tickets in these little slots to be collected before the show. You can still see the Royal listed. Can’t imagine the reaction from Box Offices if we did that now.
It was opening night for Steel Magnolias the week we were in Sydney and we couldn’t miss that. It’s not a play I know, and I’ve never seen the film so it was a treat to sit back and let the drama unfold. We had cocktails in the VIP bar – thank you Houri – and had the best evening.
A huge thanks to all the team who made me so welcome: Zach Bush, Houri Tapiki, Elise Dumpleton, Mia Callander, Sophie Young, and Tom Vogt.
Whilst in Melbourne, we saw The Book of Mormon. On a Sunday matinee. Amongst a well-heeled crowd of older Melbournites. While we were screaming with laughter, those around us were not so vocal. It was a slightly surreal experience. We also saw Public Service Broadcasting at the Northcote Theatre in our tour of antipodean cultural sites. This made David Bradbury very happy as we got the band to say hi to him.
On leaving Oz, we headed to Japan to meet up with a university friend I had not seen for many years. We started in Tokyo and did the usual tourist things: the Sky Tower, the Shibuya Scramble crossing, Godzilla and of course, sumo. In another slightly surreal moment, an Irishman hosted a sumo show in which former sumo wrestlers demonstrated their exercise routine and fighting techniques. Inevitably, audience participation was mandatory. I’ll leave you to guess whether I took my place in the sumo ring.
We got the bullet train to Hiroshima to complete our trip. That was a moving and reflective day. The Japanese are so polite, peaceful and gentle that it’s hard to imagine something so awful happening to them.
It was a truly marvellous trip. Never to be forgotten. Travel really does broaden the mind.
