Clarence Evans has always loved adventure. By the age of 21, he had already seen the world having hitchhiked from Brisbane all the way up to the Arctic Circle and back.

‘Clarry’ has worn many hats over the years. From humble beginnings in Kedron playing for Brisbane Rugby League in high school, to a year-long teaching exchange in Canada which saw him return and commence his long association with the West End.

‘Mr Evans’ was a Grade 7 teacher at West End State School for the better part of 18 years, coaching after-school sport and earning an award for his contribution to children’s sport. His own three kids went through Brisbane State High School, with two going on to become respected medical professionals.

It was around 1990 that Clarry and Westender editor Kerrod Trott became friends. Clarry taught Kerrod’s son football and the two have been close ever since. Clarry joined Westender as a film reviewer, and for many years was colloquially regarded as ‘Australia’s top film critic,’ although not everyone would come to agree!

Moving away from teaching, Clarry purchased two guesthouses around 2006, Minto Colonial Accommodation on Gladstone Road, which he recently sold, and Westmont Accommodation, where he also resides. Westmont caters for travellers and professionals mostly from overseas including Europe, and North and South America.

Over the years, Clarry has done his best to retain the title of ‘Mr West End’ as a member of the West End Traders Association, and as a regular at many local haunts.

Since he was very young, Clarry has written music, and fondly recalls the thriving arts community in West End, particularly in the late ’60s when he went through the local rock band scene. Clarry’s real passion for music was ignited when he was overseas jamming with the Americans, and it wasn’t long before he shifted his focus to theatre production with a particular focus on rock opera.

It was in the ’80s when Clarry first met Denny Lawrence, who had approached him to co-write a musical chronicling the amazing Australian Paraguay story from the 1890s. Flash forward to 2019 and that musical became Utopia, one of nine musicals that Clarry has worked on with Denny under the banner Theatreroo. As self-funded independent theatre makers with unique, pub theatre-style shows, Theatreroo have produced many highly acclaimed musicals, often with a Brisbane focus, from Live at the Trocadero to Baby Boomer. They have held several charity performances over the years with all proceeds going to Micah Projects.

Cast of the 2021 season of Baby Boomer: Harmony Breen, Travis Holmes, Joel O’Brien and Mckeira Cumming. Photo credit: Deb Mayes

Award-winning multi-hyphenate Denny Lawrence has divided his time in recent years between Australia and New York where he has worked as Head of Acting and Directing at Tisch School of the Arts and Executive Director at the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at NYU. It feels like the logical next step for Clarry to head to the Big Apple to join him, and that is exactly what he will be doing next month under the new banner, Theatreroo Incorporated.

Clarry has assembled an American team of advisers and creatives and together with Denny, they have created Honeyland, an adaptation of Baby Boomer with an American twist. Honeyland is a coming-of-age musical that follows a group of graduates in 1960s Boston as they engage with the social issues of the day. Casting calls are already underway for non-Equity performers based in NYC, and eight shows are booked for an October/November season at the iconic off-Broadway theatre, the Triad. It is Clarry’s hope that he can eventually bring his other musicals to New York and use Australian performers, giving our homegrown talent a go.

Everyone at Westender wishes Clarry and Denny well on their exciting new endeavour. If they can make it there, they’ll make it anywhere. But Clarry will always be Mr West End to us.

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Cover photo credit: Clarry in New York with his US advisors Eileen and Sharon Weiss of Tweiss Productions.