Lab Kelpie is a not-for-profit independent theatre company dedicated to the development of playwrights and the presentation, touring, rights management and publishing of contemporary new Australian work.

Originally operating out of Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market complex, Lab Kelpie was founded in 2011 and has recently relocated its office to Daylesford in regional Victoria.

In a decade of completely unfunded operation, we have managed to present 240 performances of thirteen new Australian works and associated touring to over 87 venues and 18,000 audience members across Australia and New Zealand.

As strong advocates of new writing, we support Australian playwrights by commissioning, developing, presenting, publishing and touring their work, encouraging our writers to take risks and inspire audiences with the themes and messages they want to explore.

“One of Australia’s most exciting independent theatre companies on the rise.” – Maxim Boon, The Music