Plaza redevelopment works to force 5-month Festival Theatre closure
ADELAIDE’s main performance venue, the Festival Theatre, will be forced to close for five months next year when a new carpark and foyers are constructed as part of the plaza redevelopment.
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ADELAIDE’s main performance venue, the Festival Theatre, will be forced to close for five months next year when a new carpark and foyers are constructed as part of the plaza redevelopment.
The closure breaks promises made by the State Government when it announced the project last year, that the centre would remain fully accessible during building.
Major arts companies were only notified of the closure in recent weeks, causing planning chaos for their 2017 seasons.
Festival Centre chief executive Douglas Gautier said it had decided to close the Festival Theatre from July 23 to December 26 next year to ensure public safety, as well as that of staff and hirers.
As a result, companies including State Opera, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Ballet have had to make significant changes to their planned 2017 seasons, which were due to be announced later this month.
“This was a difficult decision but based on advice from our architects and the building certifier, and new information about the impact and timing of the construction of the new carpark, we felt that closing the foyer was necessary to ensure safety,’’ Mr Gautier said.
The decision was based on updates about the impact and the timing of work to be undertaken by the site’s developers, Walker Corporation.
“Walker will need to demolish the existing carpark, and drive a large number of piles to build the retaining wall of the new carpark and the new exterior work on the Festival Theatre,’’ Mr Gautier said.
“The impact of this work would have made it impossible to run matinees or rehearsals.’’
Final performances in the Festival Theatre will be two concerts by the ASO on July 21 and 22, after the Adelaide season of hit musical Matilda in May-June.
State Opera chief executive Timothy Sexton said it would have to change two of its three subscription shows next year because the productions would not fit smaller venues, and it had postponed this month’s planned season launch.
“We are still working through how we get around that to create a viable season,’’ Mr Sexton said.
ASO chief executive Vincent Ciccarello said it also had to reschedule a number of concerts to smaller venues or different times of the year, including shows with the Australian Ballet.
“Both the costs and revenue associated with that change, according to the venue you go into,’’ Mr Ciccarello said.
The closure will not affect the centre’s adjoining venues, the Dunstan Playhouse and Space Theatre.
It was also timed so that work on the Festival Theatre would be completed before renovations begin on Her Majesty’s Theatre in Grote St in 2018, ensuring one of the larger venues would remain open at all times, Mr Gautier said.