Bev Pearce (left) and Kerry Girdwood are looking forward to a play opening and a solution to land subsidence at the Whanganui Repertory Theatre.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Bev Pearce (left) and Kerry Girdwood are looking forward to a play opening and a solution to land subsidence at the Whanganui Repertory Theatre.
Photo / Bevan Conley
It is an exciting time for the Whanganui Repertory Theatre but it has a problem with the 140-year-old building that houses the theatre - a heavy bank of soil is resting against its back wall and it has been a long-standing concern.
Repertory committee chairwoman Bev Pearce said she hadspent a few sleepless nights worrying about the building, which is hosting the theatre's production of the Alan Bennett play Lady in the Van from next week.
"When there has been heavy rain, I have lain awake thinking about how much worse the situation could become," she said.
The building, which was Whanganui's original library built in 1882, is owned by the Whanganui District Council and Pearce had attended a number of meetings to remind councillors of the need to address the subsidence problem.
At the council's recent property and community services committee meeting, Pearce accompanied by repertory director Kerry Girdwood and president Mark Morton asked councillors consider the cultural and heritage value of the building.
"It has superb acoustics and touring groups such as Arts on Tour, who visit regularly, always comment on how much they enjoy the theatre."
The group's members said the interior of the building could do with some "tarting up" and the dressing rooms could do with renovations but they were mainly concerned about the repairs to the exterior which could not be considered until the subsidence problem was addressed.
Councillor Charlie Anderson asked how long the bank had been resting against the back of the building and if the problem was getting worse.
Girdwood said it had been "years" and recalled that there had been a number of repairs to the bank over the years but none had led to a permanent solution.
"I know it has been repaired at least two or three, maybe four times but it continues to creep back again," she said.
Morton said the council had installed an interior back wall in 2015 to help protect the building from seeping dampness.
Chief executive David Langford said a project to complete lasting repairs to the bank was included in the council's annual plan as part of upgrades to the Pukenamu/Queens Park area and was expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year.
Councillor Kate Joblin asked if a project that included repairs to the building would slow down the bank repairs.
Langford said it would because building repairs had not yet been assessed and were not included in the current year's plan.
The bank has been encroaching on the Whanganui Repertory Theatre building for a number of years.
Photos / Bevan Conley
He said a project to repair the building could possibly be included in the 2023-2024 annual plan or the next long-term plan, however, it would need to be considered alongside other projects.
A conservation report on the building, funded by the council and charitable grants, was completed last year.
Pearce and Girdwood said they were reassured by the response from councillors and the comments from Langford.
"We feel that the council has an obligation to preserve and enhance the theatre, as a long-standing local institution and we would like the council to help restore and future-proof the theatre," said Pearce.
"We would like to fundraise to help pay for the restoration costs but nothing can be done until the bank is adequately repaired so it was reassuring to be given a timeframe for when that is likely to be completed."
Girdwood said the Whanganui Repertory Theatre was one of the few traditional theatres still standing in Aotearoa and she hoped it would be a priority for restoration in the near future.
