Keith Urban to perform at grand opening of $100 million Sydney Coliseum Theatre in Rooty Hill

Keith Urban will bring his magic to the gala opening launch of the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, a $100 million facility to bring the best of the performing arts to the city’s population centre.

Keith Urban will perform at the opening of the Sydney Coliseum. Picture: Josh Woning

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Keith Urban will turn entertainment gladiator for the grand opening of the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, a $100 million facility to bring the best of the performing arts to the city’s population centre.

The Keith Urban And Friends concert on December 21 will officially launch the 2000-seat theatre in Rooty Hill, which is set to host ballet, drama, symphonic music and many other performing arts.

The Coliseum’s opening season will also include appearances by other Australian megastar exports including two performances of Dame Edna My Gorgeous Life by the Moonee Ponds style icon herself.

A secondary bar design of the Western Sydney Performing Arts Centre under construction in Rooty Hill.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra will present symphonic favourites with internationally renowned guest conductors and artists, SSO chief executive Emma Dunch said.

“Over the next three years, audiences can enjoy some incredible music from the SSO at Sydney Coliseum Theatre,” Dunch said.

The Australian Ballet artistic director David McAllister said greater Sydney was full of ballet schools and now there would be a theatre suitable for main stage ballet productions outside of the Sydney Opera House.

The lobby design of the Western Sydney Performing Arts Centre under construction in Rooty Hill.

TAB will contribute performances of its acclaimed children-focused Storytime Ballet, The Nutcracker, to the Coliseum’s opening season and hopes to build a season of main stage ballet productions into the Coliseum’s 2021 season, McAllister said.

Sydney Dance Company will bring a contemporary twist to the Coliseum stage.

“This is a historic launch, and for our debut season we will be performing our main stage production of ab [intra], a work that is currently on tour across Europe,” Sydney Dance Company artistic director Rafael Bonachela said.

The lobby stairs design of the Western Sydney Performing Arts Centre under construction in Rooty Hill.

Bangarra Dance Theatre, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, the Australian circus theatre company Circa and the St Petersburg Ballet will all perform as part of the Coliseum’s opening season.

The Coliseum is owned and operated by West HQ Ltd and is under construction on a nine-hectare site 35 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD.

Atrium Balcony of the new western Sydney theatre.

The site also includes the Rooty Hill RSL, an aquatic and gymnasium centre, a Novotel and numerous food and beverage outlets, West HQ chief executive Richard Errington said.

“We are also building a Pullman hotel on the site,” Errington said.

The Coliseum had been built by West HQ with no government funding.

The view from the auditorium stage of the Sydney Coliseum

“West HQ Limited is the company which owns the assets and debts,” Errington said.

Sydney had no comparable facility to the Coliseum “west of the Anzac Bridge”.

It would fill a great need for performing arts among the 2.2 million people of greater Western Sydney who represented 170 nationalities, Errington said.