Hopgood Theatre will keep operating in 2020 after third State Government funding extension
Dozens of schools will be able to keep using the Hopgood Theatre next year after another funding extension. But campaigners will still rally on Wednesday for a permanent solution.
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Dozens of schools will be able to keep using Noarlunga’s Hopgood Theatre next year after the State Government agreed to another funding extension.
The announcement comes as Save the Hopgood campaigners and Labor MP Katrine Hildyard prepare to rally at Parliament on Wednesday and table an updated petition with around 10,000 signatures, calling for a permanent solution.
The Sunday Mail reported last month that the theatre hosted 47 school productions, concerts, and graduations in 2018-19 attended by 11,000 people. In addition, 14 professional performances attracted 6000 children, while at least 25 community dance schools put on their annual shows there.
Campaigners said many schools would have nowhere else to go next year.
The future of the theatre, on the Noarlunga TAFE campus, has been under a cloud since the Government last year cut operational funding, which came via Country Arts SA. But it has since extended funding three times.
Education Minister John Gardner said $50,000 would keep it going until June and, if necessary, another $50,000 for the second half of next year, while Onkaparinga Council and TAFE SA continue to negotiate over future use of the campus and financial arrangements.
“It’s clear at this point we need to provide certainty for schools while those discussions continue,” Mr Gardner said.
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“It’s important for a number of schools in the southern suburbs and Fleurieu region, and other user groups.”
Save the Hopgood leader Harry Dewar, a former drama teacher, said the extension was a “sensible moratorium” that would allow time for “a considered and intelligent long-term solution” to be found.
Mr Dewar said in the meantime it meant young people would “continue to enjoy the opportunity to work alongside professional people in a professional (theatre) setting”.
But he said the rally would still go ahead, though it might be “a bit more celebratory now”.
“We still need a permanent fix and we still need to ensure our voice is heard,” he said.