Rally to save the Hopgood Theatre at Parliament House
The southern arts community will put on a show on the steps of Parliament House tomorrow in a bid to save their beloved Hopgood Theatre.
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Passionate members of the southern arts community will rally at Parliament House tomorrow in a bid to save their beloved Hopgood Theatre.
Another 5000 people have signed a petition calling on the State Government to fund the theatre beyond the end of this year.
More than 7000 people signed an earlier petition.
At 1pm on Wednesday, activists will perform on the steps of Parliament House on North Tce to highlight how important the theatre is to the southern suburbs.
Labor MP Katrine Hildyard will then officially submit the petition to parliament.
Ms Hildyard, along with the Save the Hopgood Theatre group and Onkaparinga Council, have been fighting for more than a year to keep the curtains open at the Noarlunga Centre theatre after the State Government refused to agree to its usual five-year funding arrangement last year.
The theatre – which costs about $200,000 a year to run – has been managed by Country Arts since 2008.
Ms Hildyard said Hopgood Theatre provided a performance venue for many local schools and groups as well as gave people in the south somewhere to go and see local, interstate and international acts.
In May, with no agreement reached, the State Government said it would prop up the theatre for a further six months on the condition that a new funding model was in place by December 31.
It has insisted that the extension was “final”.