The PlayhouseTheatre is a theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was converted from a lodge into a 100-seat theatre by the Southern Comedy Players in 1962. Since the late 1960s it has been home to the Dunedin Repertory Society, who regularly perform youth productions for children.
The building, at 31 Albany Street, dates from 1876, and was converted from the Foresters' Lodge Hall in 1962 by William Menlove and Bernard Esquilant for theatre company Southern Comedy Players.[1][2] When opened the theatre had 100 seats, and the "Stage Set" cafe and a craft exhibition space on the top floor.[1]
The repertoire for the Southern Comedy Players included contemporary West End comedy, musicals, classics and dramas.[3] The Southern Comedy Players became the Southern Theatre Trust which folded in 1970.[4]
The Playhouse is home to the Dunedin Repertory Society, which was formed in 1931 but has been based at The Playhouse since the late 1960s.[5][6] The Society currently specialises in youth productions, and regularly performs youth productions for children in the school holidays. Recent productions have included The Hunting of the Snark, adapted from Lewis Carroll by Diane Dupres, in April 2021,[7] and Treasure Island; Sleeping Beauty is an up-coming production for July 2021.[8] The Playhouse also hosts an annual adult production, past productions have included a professional production of Aristophanes' The Clouds, directed by Harry Love in 2019, and Never the Sinner, by John Logan, directed by Lewis Ablett-Kerr.[6][9][10]
During 2020 the society had to move productions to Logan Park High School due to a leaking roof. The roof was subsequently replaced using a grant from the Dunedin Heritage Fund, which was the first renovation work since the conversion in the 1960s.[2] In April 2021, the Society's President Jemma Adams called for public input into the future of the building, which is in need of significant further renovation.[11]
^Smith, Charmian (17 July 2014). "Theatre of Fortune". Otago Daily Times Online News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
^"Theatre Aotearoa". Theatre Aotearoa database. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
