The stars always shine at the Civic

Maintaining the Civic Theatre's iconic furnishings and starry ceiling is a full time task for theatre staff, but those who work within the stunning building are only too happy to be part of the magic.

"It's where people have come for generations to be entertained, amused, scared, uplifted and transported away from their everyday life," says equipment controller and production specialist Bryce Gibson.

"The wow factor makes just walking into the venue a special occasion. People always remember being there, and Aucklander's especially can often recall the first show they saw there."

The theatre's whimsical décor, including gold lions with glowing eyes, elaborated columns and seated Buddha's, has delighted audiences ever since the much-loved building took up residence on its Queen Street corner in 1929.

While visitors are quickly spellbound by the twinkling light show that appears on the ceiling before the curtain rises, few realise the stars were meticulously mapped out to represent a real-life patch of the city's sky.

"The stars are fibre optic and carefully placed to represent the night sky as it was over Auckland in 1929," Bryce says. "The lights, stars and clouds were part of the original build of the Civic."

As part of the $45 million refurbishment in 1999, the original ceiling stars were swapped out for the more modern display that today's visitors enjoy.

"The original stars were pygmy lamps shining through small holes in the ceiling. Over time, many burnt out, leaving blank patches," Bryce says. "The cloud effect is a projection, I'd tell you how it's done but it's cooler not to know, just look up and be amazed!"

As Australasia's best example of an Atmospheric Theatre, where lighting and other trickery is used to convey the feeling of sitting in an outdoor auditorium at night, the Civic is one of only seven of its kind in the world.

And while the statues, lights and special flourishes inside require constant touch-ups, staff see it as a labour of love.

"The building in many ways is like a film set, the appearance is only skin deep," Bryce says. "It is quite fragile - largely plaster and paint - so requires constant maintenance. There's no specialist team but those that do the work quickly become passionate about it."

The 2,378-seat theatre is in use more than 200 days a year, and has been the backdrop for everything from film festival docos to elaborate productions of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Despite some talk about a theatre ghost, Bryce thinks the well-loved building has too much positive energy to attract any spooky goings-on.

"There is definitely a special energy about the place, even when dark and empty the building has a wonderful vibe," he says. "Almost 90 years of emotions have soaked into the walls, giving it a feeling akin to an old church."

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