About the Plaza
The two-tiered theatre was built in 1930 after the fire that ravaged 40 commercial properties in Coonamble in 1929. It was built to house 900 people - 400 upstairs and 500 downstairs.
The grand foyer leads to an open space of high ceilings and wooden floorboards with a risen stage at the front. There is new ablution block with accessible toilet and a kitchen/residence (the old green room) at the back of the building.
The Plaza was purchased by Coonamble local, Chris Gray, in 2000 after being closed and dilapidated for around 25 years. Sadly, Chris passed suddenly in 2019 and the Plaza has basically stood empty with only one last production by the Coonamble Amateur Theatrical Society in mid 2019.
By purchasing the theatre, Outback Arts ambitiously aim to restore, renovate and share the space with the community for performance, celebration, recreation and more!
Future Productions
Hello, Coonamble! is a performance by local people, each one telling a three-minute story about an event which changed their life. There will be 20 stories in all. The stories might be funny, or tragic, or inspiring, or just plain odd.
The project is produced by Outback Arts, and convened by, Hannie Rayson and Michael Cathcart.
Hannie and Michael move to the district for around three months. They attend local events, get to know the history of the region and ask people about their memories, hopes and ambitions. And all the time they are on the lookout for a diverse range of people who want to share their powerful stories.
They help each participant to shape and perform their story. This is the part of the process which takes the most time. Some people are keen and able to write their story themselves. Others need us to write a first draft. They will also plan to run workshops for young people which will culminate in them presenting two or three items in the show
MORE ABOUT THE TEAM
Hannie Rayson is one of Australia’s best-loved playwrights (Hotel Sorrento, Life After George, Inheritance, Two Brothers). She is the author of 16 plays. Her book, Hello, Beautiful! tells stories from her own life. Hannie has performed a stage-version of Hello, Beautiful! in over 40 city and regional theatres. Her plays have been performed throughout Australia at all the major theatre companies. Internationally her work has been staged in London’s West End, The New National Theatre of Tokyo, The New Kobe Oriental Hall, Japan, Helsinki City Theatre, The Centaur in Montreal, The National Theatre of Slovenia and many theatres in the UK, Europe and New Zealand.
Hannie’s plays have won AWGIE Awards; Green Room Awards; Helpmann Awards; NSW Premier’s Literary Awards; Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the Age Performing Arts Award.
LIFE AFTER GEORGE is the only play ever to be nominated for the prestigious Miles Franklin Award.
Michael Cathcart is an award-winning writer. He taught Australian history at the University of Melbourne in the 1990s. Since 2001 he has been a presenter on ABC TV and ABC Radio National. For the past eight years he has presented The Stage Show, a weekly program about theatre, for Radio National. He started directing community theatre in the 1990s.
Additional partnership for this project as part of the Outback Arts partnership, Outback Theatre for Young People are coming on board. This will allow for increased support and engagement of the Coonamble Young people, including legacy work in professional development for Coonamble Amateur Theatre Crew who are interested in leading future youth drama works.
We need your help
Our goal is to prepare this one-of-a-kind community facility for its next chapter by replacing or restoring the necessary roofing and plasterwork , adding sound and lighting, adapting the structure to meet current accessibility and safety requirements. This will provide the theatre with modern facilities needed to make this beautiful, historic venue accessible and affordable for everyone to use.
Proposed activities include:
Touring theatrical performances by metropolitan and regional companies
Touring Live Music and stand-up comedy.
Artists Residencies – within and outside the region
Community Groups – hosting local presentations or fundraising events/activities.
OBA Regional Groups – touring small scale performance, music, choir, classical, dance, drumming.
Schools – presentation events, fundraisers, theatrical shows.
LGA’s meeting place/conferences and markets
Private – hire of the venue for private functions and events.
All donations are tax deductible
