Whanganui District Council called on to help restore historic Repertory Theatre

The theatre has rented the building from council for 90 years. Photo / Paul Brooks

Whanganui’s Repertory Theatre is hoping the building it has rented from the district council for 90 years will undergo major renovations.

President Mark Morton said donations of around $250,000 were being offered to the theatre but they couldn’t be accepted without a plan in place for the building’s future.

He said membership had grown “exponentially” over the past 12 months.

“We have great shows going on and great presentations. Everyone wants to be part of something that’s actually going forward.”

The restoration was endorsed following a public meeting last December.

Morton and architect Elinor Harvey McDouall spoke about a possible plan at a council aspirations and projects committee meeting.

Harvey McDouall completed a conservation report on the building last year.

She said it functioned well as a theatre but as a heritage building there was “not much left”.

“The only thing of any merit would be part of the front facade. It’s been butchered and it’s in terrible condition,” she said.

“Its main merit is the social history that goes with it and its importance to people who were involved in it through the years.”

However, it would be impossible to comply with all current regulations if the building was demolished and a new theatre took its place, she said.

The site on Ridgway St was constricted and the building was already over the street.

“Restoring it is the only way to have a theatre on that site,” Harvey McDouall said.

“Then you can inherit all the historical non-compliances and you can work with them.”

The Whanganui Performing Arts Academy rehearsing at the theatre earlier this year.

She told the Chronicle a ballpark cost for her concept design would be $1.6 million.

Speaking to the committee, she said because the building was heritage-listed, applications could be made to “some really big funders”.

“You can apply to Lotteries [Lotto grants] and a whole lot of smaller charities but for that, council needs to provide match funding.

“For Lotteries, I think council has to match funding by a third.”

She said her design fitted five toilets into the building.

At present, there are two.

“Another drive is to try and make it a facility more suitable for multi-purpose use.

“It [the design] has got a nice big foyer and it incorporates a bar, so you need to have the proper compliance around that.

“It also has a concrete slab floor, which allows accessibility. That is a key part.”

Morton said the sound and lighting systems had been upgraded and the theatre was open every day of the week.

Along with sold-out theatre shows, the building hosted comedy, rehearsals, ballet, live music and annual general meetings.

“We aren’t looking for a handout to run the theatre, we can run it out of our own profits and organisation,” he said.

“We need a building that is fit for the purpose we wish to undertake and we would like to be on [the council’s] long-term plan to achieve that.”

Projects presented to the committee enter a process to be considered for the council’s long-term plan for 2024-2034.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.