In the midst of Her Majesty’s Theatre revival push, the Royal South Street Society are struggling after unprecedented financial losses without the venue this year.
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The society say they’re set to lose up to $165,000 in 2018 due to a 20 per cent drop in entries this year, particularly in the sections drawing big audiences, like calisthenics and dance.
Royal South Street Society CEO Brett Macdonald said he was “fearful for the consequences” of being forced out of Her Majesty’s Theatre for a second year in a row.
“Two years out [of Her Majesty’s] makes the board and I incredible concerned about our actual viability,” he said.“We might not get to our 128th competition if we have another year like we’re having this year.
“That said, while our entries are down 20 per cent, it still means we’ll have around 8000 performers coming to town and an audience of close to 30,000.”
According to the society, not having Her Maj as a venue for larger sections of the competition could also mean $1.7 million taken out of Ballarat’s economy in 2018. Mr Macdonald said one trader was set to lose $8000 per week revenue compared to last September and October.
Committee for Ballarat’s CEO Melanie Robertson said they support the call for additional investment into the venue before reopening, as it would “enhance the reputation and and competitiveness of our region as a place to live, work and invest”.
The society is now weighing up potential options for 2019 if Her Maj is unavailable, with Civic Hall the current front runner to act as the eisteddfod’s next hub.
“But as council have said to us, the current rebuild is bringing it up to the standard of a civic hall, not a performance space. So it needs a lot more infrastructure to make it suitable for what we do,” Mr Macdonald.
Balalrat Mayor Samantha McIntosh has previously told The Courier the $7.3 million would be enough to re-open the venue’s doors, but it may have to close again in 5-10 years for more renovations.
The society will also apply to City of Ballarat for a strategic partnership grant, to try and recoup all of or more than the $165,000 revenue loss over four years.
“[The grant is] the key to the survival of the society, and opening the theatre is key to the survival,” Mr Macdonald said.
As revealed by The Courier in April, when the venue’s doors closed to fix split wooden roof beams at the end of 2017, a probe of the stage’s foundations showed it could not safely support scaffolding or heavy equipment.
Ms Robertson said as the “cultural home of arts in Ballarat”, Her Majesty’s Theatre played a large part activating the CBD and was also “important from an economic perspective”.
City of Ballarat is now calling for a $5 million state government contribution and a $10 million federal government contribution for works, which will also make the theatre Disability Discrimination Act-compliant.
$5.3 million was committed to the venue in this year’s council budget, with $2 million already committed for restoration from Heritage Victoria. This money will go toward investigating and strengthening the stage’s foundations, and roof fixes.
