The company
Five decades in the making
From a schoolboy play at a Normanhurst nursing home in 1979 to full-scale musicals at Sydney's professional theatres — this is SYMT.
Our history
Sydney Youth Musical Theatre Company (SYMT) is a community theatre musical society founded by Jan Thomas (previously Knight) OAM on 15 September 1979. SYMT began life as the Normanhurst Uniting Church Junior Musical Society — grown out of a schoolboy enterprise that, very briefly, called itself the Greenwood Players.
For one school term in 1979, a group of Year 8 boys from Normanhurst Boys' High School gave community service at Greenwood Nursing Home in Normanhurst, and put on a show for the residents at the end of their tenure. Jan — mother of one of the boys — realised the group needed leadership and direction, and proposed a junior group to develop young members' skills. On 15 September 1979, it was born. In the 1970s there were no local opportunities for children to develop musical and dramatic talent unless they attended professional theatre schools; the group was created to give every child a chance to grow, whether they had talent "by the bucket-load or a thimbleful."
By 1982 the group became independent as the Hornsby Youth Musical Group, gaining Hornsby Shire Council's backing. In 1983 it rebranded as Hornsby Youth Musical Theatre (HYMT), with Robert Forgacs as Musical Director and Carolyn Crisp as Artistic Director. By 1987 HYMT had moved to Pennant Hills Community Centre, staging Annie, The Sentimental Bloke and Oliver.
In 1993, HYMT became Sydney Youth Musical Theatre and began performing in larger venues such as the Hills Entertainment Centre and Zenith Theatre. In 2004 Hornsby RSL became the company's home venue, with seasons at Riverside Theatres from 2023 and Glen Street Theatre in 2025 before returning to Hornsby RSL in 2026. Today SYMT operates across Hornsby RSL and Glen Street Theatre, continuing to expand opportunities for performers and audiences across Sydney's north.
Now in its fifth decade, the company benefits from a dedicated rehearsal and storage facility and welcomes thousands of audience members each year — while remaining committed to providing outstanding musical theatre experiences for young performers.