‘West End’ theatre district a step closer with $60m Star deal

Plans to build a Broadway-style theatre, live music venue and cabaret room in Pyrmont have cleared a major hurdle under a $60 million deal between Star Entertainment Group and theatre impresario Stephen Found.

Found, whose company Foundation Theatres owns the Sydney Lyric (also at The Star) and the Capitol Theatre, has received the green light to progress long-standing plans to convert The Star’s events centre into a two-level, 1550-seat proscenium arch theatre and a separate 1000-seat room for contemporary music and comedy.

Render of the proposed Broadway-style theatre at the Star complex.Credit: Foundation Theatres

In a new development, he will also be able to build a 550-seat cabaret room in a vacant space next to the Lyric.

“The Star has worked closely with the team at Foundation Theatres since they acquired the sublease for the Sydney Lyric in 2011,” Star chief executive Steve McCann said of the deal.

However, the proposed sale of Star’s events centre might not be enough to help the casino operator stay afloat.

The proceeds will be held as restricted cash by Star’s lenders, and there is no certainty it will help the group access $100 million in fresh loans from its lenders, which means further asset sales are expected as the group fights to remain solvent.

“We continue to work on a number of other potential non-core asset transactions,” McCann said.

Whatever the fate of Star itself, the sale could turn the Pyrmont waterfront into a live performance destination, and pose a serious challenge to Melbourne’s claim to be Australia’s theatre capital.

A confidential government report disclosed by The Sydney Morning Herald last year shows Sydney is losing to Melbourne when it comes to blockbuster theatre premieres worth millions due to a “critical” shortage of venues, which has caused a five-year logjam in bringing first-run shows to the city.

The three new venues, when combined with the Lyric and the boutique Foundry Theatre, opening at the rear of the Lyric on February 11, would result in a five-venue West End-style theatre district.

The proposed Live Room in concert mode.Credit: Foundation Theatres

Construction and conversion costs are estimated at more than $100 million, with the new venues to be opened by 2026.

The stage of the new Broadway-style theatre would be of comparable size to the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, where Harry Potter and the Cursed Child conducted its record-breaking three-year run, and Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide.

Foundation Theatre’s chief executive Graeme Kearns said he expected the new venues would satisfy demand for commercial theatres in Sydney, a cornerstone of east-coast theatre tours, for more than a decade to come.

“Our plans to build a much-needed Broadway-style theatre in Sydney have cleared a major hurdle with our transaction for the event centre,” he said.

“The conversion of the event centre represents the most commercially viable option for a new theatre in Sydney.

“The additional venues that we are planning will be a great addition to the live performance ecosystem of Sydney as the industry continues to grow and thrive.

“In 2024, the Sydney Lyric welcomed more than half a million theatre-goers to our fantastic shows. With the addition of our new venues, more than one million people a year will see shows at The Star Sydney. We have some exciting new content planned for the venues.”

This might not, however, be the only imminent addition to Sydney’s theatre sector.

Last year, Gretel Packer’s company Sacred Firebird purchased the Metro Minerva Theatre in Kings Cross from the developer Central Element for about $26 million, with theatre supporters hoping the art deco theatre will soon return to its theatrical roots.

Paul Nicolaou, executive director of Business Sydney, said Star’s deal with Foundation Theatres would help give Star “much-needed breathing space to work its way out of its current difficulties”.

“Sydney gets the benefit of some exciting new venues to host theatre, live entertainment and contemporary music,” he said.

“This announcement is a classic win-win for our wonderful city.”

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