New Flag Ship for a Flagging Community

"What theatre in WA needs is more support from the Government" has been a cry voiced for some time now, and it now looks like it might actually happen, just not in the way many would expect. $66 million dollars is to be allocated to the building of a new theatre in the heart of Northbridge, between Roe and William street right next to the Perth Cultural Centre. The new Performing Arts location will house a number of theatrical spaces, including a 575 seat main theatre, a 200 seat studio theatre along with rehearsal, production and general office space. The plan is to have the new structure up and running by the end of 2008.

Build it and they will come

The mentality behind the venture is to provide the Theatre Community a "badly needed home" and will include a resident company in the form of Black Swan Theatre as well as provide performance space for touring companies and local theatrical groups. The hope is that the new site will "breathe new life into an art form that many believe is on the brink of extinction in this State."

Other forms of theatrical entertainment including opera, ballet and music already have a strong support mechanism in their corporate funding and sponsorships. Theatre itself has become overly dependant on the meagre Government handouts that seem to only get smaller each year. This provides very little ability to develop strong audience support networks and to develop the creative talents of local playwrights and artists.

Even Deckchair fought a rather long and tiresome battle to keep the annual Shakespeare in the Park season alive, and that was asking for the "princely" sum of $25,000. Please note the sarcasm in "princely."

Ulterior Motives?

According to West Australian writer, Mark Naglazas, the new theatre has probably more to do with redrawing the Northbridge landscape than any direct support for theatre. A point of view I am also inclined to agree with. However, it does seem to come closely on the heels of the formation of Perth's Cultural Task Force, or the Committee for Perth, back in July this year. Their initial project was the 60,000 seat stadium, and iconic landmark for Perth which would hopefully attract big name performers back to Perth. Even if this new project is directly related or not, it is interesting that we now have two such cultural projects with substantial funding from the Government. Perth "Culture" is certainly getting a much needed injection and it will have to be seen if it has the desired effect. I will be crossing my fingers.

Why should I be concerned rather than pleased? A major injection of funds can only be a good thing, right? Hopefully. It remains to be seen if the development of new buildings will have the same effect as directly funding the community itself. There are concerns that without more direct support of the Theatre Community, the new structure could become another Convention Centre embarrassment for the city.

There is No Place Like Home

Yet it is the view of those that provide the money that the primary failure of theatre in WA is the lack of a home. A unifying base of performance that is up to international standards as opposed to the "rundown, inadequate facilities and .. companies forced to change venue due to renovations and other reasons…" The impact of movies, TV, digital and on-line entertainment it would seem is minimal at best.

Black Swan Artistic Director, Tom Gutteridge, is seeing the benefits of the project calling it "the most important development in theatre in Perth in decades." Being nominated as the WA Theatrical Flagship, Black Swan will be expected to increase their turnover of productions, a challenge that Tom would appear to relish. "Perth is full of extremely talented writers, actors and directors … Most of them barely make a living but for some reason they have chosen to live and work in Perth. … A new theatre will give them even more incentive to stay."

He is of course right. No matter what the real motivations behind the development are, it will certainly do more good than harm, as long as it is managed properly and coordinated with other projects and the Community as a whole.

Inspired by an article in the West's Weekend Extra, Nov 11 2006

Relevant Links

Project Outline - DCA - Media Statement - Centre Stage - Winning Design

Jeff Watkins