$12m theatre project gets go-ahead

The curtain will rise on a new theatre project in the Aotea arts quarter today with seed funding of $4.6 million from the Auckland City Council.

The New Theatre Initiative, representing a cross section of the performing arts community, plans to build a 350 to 460-seat theatre behind the Auckland Town Hall at a cost of $12.5 million.

Auckland is the only major city in Australasia lacking a 250 to 400-seat flexible theatre. The need and market demand has been apparent since the demise of the Watershed Theatre in 1996.

The city has the Herald and Silo theatres with seating for up to 180 people and the 700-seat Sky Theatre, but little in between. The main stage of the 460-seat Maidment Theatre is booked up to two years in advance.

The theatre will be built on the old fleet services garage behind the town hall with access through the Queen St building that currently houses the Citizen's Advice Bureau and James Wallace Gallery.

These tenants will move out to create a large foyer with bars and a cafe at street level with rehearsal space and offices upstairs.

The New Theatre Initiative, whose patrons and champions include a former mayor, Governor-General Dame Cath Tizard, Roger Hall, Lucy Lawless, Michael Hurst and Jennifer Ward-Lealand, have raised $1.5 million.

A report going to the council's finance committee today said the $6.1 million already raised and committed by the council gave the "project the best possible chance of success".

Finance committee chairman Vern Walsh said the theatre had "huge merit" and was worthy of council backing.

The council indicated last year it would give $3 million to the theatre from a community projects fund. The finance committee will today approve a further $1.6 million from existing budgets.

The council has also agreed to lease the land and buildings to the theatre initiative, provide another $550,000 over three years towards set-up costs and $300,000 a year towards running costs once it opened. That is slated for 2008.

Project manager Margaret Belich said the theatre would be based on the Cottesloe Theatre on London's South Bank, renowned for its sense of intimacy.

A council report said it would be owned and operated by the theatre community rather than being a "hall for hire".

The theatre would be independent of The Edge, which runs the Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall and Civic Theatre.

The theatre would be located within a proposed arts precinct south of the town hall. Based on the successful Lincoln Centre in New York, the $40 million arts precinct could become home to Auckland's major performing arts companies - the Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland Theatre Company and Black Grace dance group.

Mayor Dick Hubbard's Outside the Square exercise, which came up with an ambitious $750 million Aotea Square revamp, endorsed the New Theatre Initiative and arts precinct.

Work began yesterday on a $2 million upgrade of the main city library that includes an alternative entrance, a news media zone and a cafe on the corner of Wellesley and Lorne Sts. The library will remain open during the makeover.