The Election Selection showcases The Courier's picks for what Ballarat projects need a funding promise in the lead up to the November state election.
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For thousands of Ballarat residents, Her Majesty’s Theatre is a source of strong, life-long nostalgia.
Whether it be memories of treading the boards or perfecting an arabesque during the Royal South Street competition, or sitting in the stalls enamored by what’s happening onstage, almost everyone has a connection to the 143-year-old building.
But Her Majesty’s has paid a heavy price to keep 15,000 performers prancing across the stage each year.
The building is facing significant structural issues. When closed for roof renovations at the end of 2017, a probe of the stage’s foundations showed it could not bear the load of scaffolding and heavy equipment to fix the problems above.
Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh said the damage under the stage was caused by years of piecemeal fixes on top of one another, exacerbated by the age of the building materials.
This was exemplified by a heavy-lifter falling through the stage during the 1990s.
“Visibly, you can see a long crack in one of the beams above the stage, that’s why we’ve closed the doors, because we can’t take any risks,” Cr McIntosh said.
“[Under the stage] we’ve seen support beams cut in two, we’ve seen a whole wall cut out and a false ceiling put in, and behind the false ceiling is a sprinkler.
“We knew there needed to be structural work … but we didn’t know until we started to pull the plaster off the walls what was behind that.”
Engineers are still not completely sure what lies underneath the building’s foundations, while stage loading maps show areas where no more than one person can safety stand at a time.
City of Ballarat is calling for a $5 million state government contribution and a $10 million federal government contribution for works.
$5.3 million was committed to the venue in this year’s council budget, with $2 million for restoration from Heritage Victoria. This money will go toward investigating and strengthening the stage’s foundations, and roof fixes.
If fully funded, Her Majesty’s Theatre will also be made Disability Discrimination Act-compliant, with the installation of a front of house lift to all levels and a backstage passenger lift, larger dressing rooms and the extension of the foyer to keep theatregoers out of the cold.
Royal South Street Society CEO Brett Macdonald said another year without the venue could be “seriously dire”, with the cost of moving equipment and the competition’s reduced allure already causing a financial strain.
“Not having Her Majesty’s as a venue has meant quite a few of the the more elite entries have chosen not to come this year, particularly across dance and calisthenics, so there’s been a dip in entries,” he said.
“But more disconcertingly, we’re predicting a dramatic fall in attendance numbers due to this, which is our main revenue.”
Mr Macdonald said the society’s board had inspected the venue in June to view the damage of time, which was a “stark reminder” the decision to close the doors was “certainly not an overreaction”, with works needing to take place immediately.
The Academy of Classical Ballet director Kellie Fishwick-Roscoe has had a 40-year relationship with the building, gracing the stages as a dancer herself before shepherding her students across during Royal South Street competitions.
“Her Majesty’s is one of the most iconic theatres in the country, and for our local students to perform in such a venue is just an incredible experience,” Ms Fishwick-Roscoe said.
Cr McIntosh said it could mostly likely be re-opened by next year with safety fixes from the $7.3 million, but it would be “ridiculous” to not complete all works now.
“Since the doors have been closed, I think people have recognised what they’re children are missing out on today and what that could mean for our future in performing arts, if we don’t fix it properly now,” she said.
