WHO WE ARE

Promise is an organisation set up to promote music and performing arts for youth in South Australia. Highly  trained, often by industry  professionals, our young singers, dancers and musicians are looking to put  that training into practice in a way that goes beyond what  many  schools and community clubs can  offer.
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​Emerging artists, who are often too young to take part in the amateur theatre and music scene in Adelaide, demonstrate great talent and have lots to offer the Adelaide Theatre community. These young people need to hone their craft by gaining performance  experience. Promise identifies and creates opportunities for  emerging artists  to develop and gain exposure in South Australia and  beyond,  whilst having fun and raising funds for a wide range of charities.

WHAT WE DO

Promise has presented four major cabaret fundraisers: Songs From Stage and Screen, which raised over $2000 for Breast Cancer Research through the Cancer Council; Heart To Heart, which raised over $2000 for The Heart Foundation; Out Of The Blue, which raised over $4000 for beyondblue; and #SHe which raised a massive $6,500 for White Ribbon, and Rising Stars, which raised over $4000 for The Starlight Foundation. Cumulatively, Promise Adelaide has raised over $20,000 for charity.  

Promise Adelaide is committed to providing young artists with opportunities to perform during the Adelaide Fringe Festival. In the 2016 Adelaide Fringe  Festival, Promise produced Musical Moments, a season of musical theatre cabaret's which provided forty-eight  performers the opportunity to perform to  sell-out crowds in the world's biggest Fringe Festival. Since then, the show has returned to the Fringe Festival three times, with full capacity participants and audiences alike. Musical Moments will run for it's fifth year in the 2020 Festival. 

Promise Adelaide is also proud to present both dramatic and musical productions that provide challenging roles for emerging artists. Our aim is to find new and unusual works and revisit pieces seldom done in the Adelaide amateur theatre scene. Our productions will feature roles for performers under the age of 25 but not necessarily exclusively, as we value the learning opportunities created from working with more experienced actors and musicians. We also take pride in providing mentoring opportunities for emerging production teams members. ​In May 2017, Promise Adelaide produced their first play,  Private Peaceful, performed by Ben to critical acclaim. Following it's success, All Is Calm was staged at the Goodwood Institute, earning critical acclaim. 

ABOUT BEN

“I couldn’t have done any of this on my own. I have a wonderfully supportive family and partner, assistance from professionals like Craig Williams of Mosaic Audio Visual and the many Adelaide artists who have guided me and acted as speakers in our shows. The casts and production teams put in a huge amount of time and energy, without any payment, to make these shows a success. It really is a team effort.”

​Promise Adelaide was founded by Ben Francis in 2014. Ben felt that young people in Adelaide needed an outlet where they could combine their love for the arts with charitable initiatives in their local community.

At 19, Ben has performed extensively in both the United Kingdom and Australia for many years. With a background in musical theatre, his credits include: In The Heights (Benny), Barnum! (P.T Barnum), You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Snoopy), High School Musical (Ryan), The Little Mermaid (Prince Eric), Wizard of Oz (Scarecrow), and Pirates of Penzance (Frederic).  In 2015, Ben played the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar, earning him a nomination for ‘Best Young Performer’ in the Adelaide Theatre Guide 2015/16 ‘Curtain Call’ Awards. In May 2016, Ben performed as a supporting lead in the State Opera of South Australia’s award-winning world premiere production of Cloudstreet! at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Ben’s credits with the State Opera of South Australia also include Carmen (2011), and La Boheme (2012). Ben performs regularly with Independent Theatre, playing Peter Pan in John Logan's Peter and Alice in 2014, the title role in their staged play-reading of Peter Schaffer's Amadeus (2017), Lord Sebastien Flyte in their production of Brideshead Revisited (2017), Stephen Hoffmann in Jon Moran’s Old Wicked Songs (2018),  and the title role in Friedrich Schiller's epic Don Carlos.  In May 2017, Ben produced and starred in Private Peaceful, which went on to win the Theatre Association of South Australia’s best Drama, with Ben also winning Best Youth Actor for his performance. A return season followed in 2018. 

Ben has won numerous Eisteddfods and vocal scholarships and has performed in venues such as Euro Disney, Hong Kong Disney, Sadlers Wells Theatre on London’s West End, and in The Royal Albert Hall. He has also featured in televised documentaries, including Totally Wild and Fifteen. Ben has musically directed and orchestrally conducted several local productions, including Bugsy Malone and 13! The Musical with Adelaide Youth Theatre, Beauty and the Beast Jr with Shane Davidson Presents, and 13! The Musical . with the Adelaide Theatre Academy. He directed the Adelaide Theatre Academy's production of Porridge! at the Adelaide Festival Centre as part of the Something on Saturday Program. He is the lead vocalist and musical arranger of The 60 Four, scaling the falsetto heights of Frankie Valli in venues across Australia. 

Ben is a graduate of Scotch College, where he was Captain of Performing Arts, and achieved Dux of Combined Studies. He currently works as an Arts Reviewer for Glam Adelaide, a Drama Tutor at Scotch College, and a Vocal Teacher at Theatre Bugs. Ben is currently studying a BA in Journalism and Creative Writing.