Since there were no other acting groups in town who wanted to use the theatre for regular shows, Griffin-Chappel said the trust decided to rent the theatre to community members for events.
“It was about how we make the best use of this facility, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re driving it to make it into a community events place,” he said.
Over the past few weeks, it has hosted an Abba tribute concert which attracted nearly 100 people and comedy nights by Dennis Marsh and Brendan Dugan, who have pledged to return next year for a fundraiser show.
Another reason for running the shows, Griffin-Chappel said, was to make the public aware of the theatre’s new availability for events.
“People are quite enthused that the theatre is going to be used in a different way.
“People see there’s a possibility of a venue to come and use because there are not many venues of its size [in the district] - it can take 180 people.”
A woman had booked the theatre for her 70th birthday and a few people had made inquiries about having weddings there next year.
The trust also hoped to bring movies back to the Royal.
Griffin-Chappel said they would not play modern movies as they were outside the trust’s budget, but would instead rely on older movies outside copyright.
He had already been in contact with people who agreed to allow the theatre access to classic films in their collections and someone who knew how to play piano scores to silent films.
“I was talking to somebody the other weekend who’s from Auckland, and I understand up there there’s a revival of the old black-and-white movies and teenagers are going to see them in droves,” he said.
The potential to bring movie screenings back to the theatre had community members enthused, as some remembered going there for movies when they were growing up.
“For it would be lovely for us to have the theatre open on a Saturday afternoon and for kids to come along and do the Saturday matinee like we used to do,” he said.
Repair and renovation work was also on the cards, with the trust already having repaired a collapsed floor and wall in the men’s bathroom.
There was also water damage to plaster inside and a rotten lintel on the front of the building which needed to be repaired and, further down the line, Griffin-Chappel wanted to turn the upstairs green room area into a theatre bar.
This would come with substantial costs, with a projector costing around $80,000 and a screen around $40,000, plus further costs associated with repair work.
To fund it, he was applying for grants from Ruapehu District Council and had been in contact with the Whanganui Community Foundation, and also had an architect from Whanganui firm Drawingroom Architecture and Interiors look at the building.
The trust had already received a $10,000 grant to repair the men’s bathroom, and he was feeling positive about where the theatre was heading.
“You’ve got to think positive - you’ve got to think big about these things.”
He wanted the theatre to become a place where the community could get together, as happened when it was built.
“It’s time to make the theatre a place that can be here for another 100 years, not just another building that becomes derelict in the town, because there’s already enough of those.”
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.
