Old building treasure chest of fun

FRINGE WORLD punters this year got a look inside one of Perth’s oldest gems, the Treasury Buildings on St Georges Tce, which have been closed since they were abandoned in 1996.

For the first time in 15 years, the space was transformed into a key performance hub for the 2012 Fringe World Festival, with nine different temporary performance spaces built inside the Treasury and neighbouring Perth Town Hall, hosting over 50 shows over the course of the three and a half weeks.

Performances ranging from burlesque and aerial acrobatics to cabaret, comedy, music and theatre were staged in the grand old venue, enchanting everyone who visited with its rustic beauty.

A huge free outdoor performance space, The Treasure Chest, was built into the vacant lot between the Treasury and Perth Town Hall, forming the central entrance point to the Fringe World Treasury hub. With astroturf, palm trees, vintage caravans and real life mermaids thrown into the mix, the Treasure Chest was one of the biggest successes of the festivals, with punters falling in love with the pop up venue.

The entire site is now due for redevelopment and renovations, meaning that the 2012 FRINGE WORLD was the first and last time an event of this scale will happen on the site as it currently stands.

Festival director Marcus Canning is happy that the festival got a chance to give the grand old site a worthwhile send off.

“We sure did kick this grande old dame of WA history back to life one last time before her total makeover later in the year. This site was where the City of Perth was founded in 1829. It is Point Zero, from which all distances are measured in WA. It was the state’s first central government buildings. After being empty and dead for so long, there was something very powerful and meaningful in resurrecting the buildings as a place of mass social gathering, creative energy exchange and enjoyment.“

To learn more about FRINGE WORLD, visit www.fringeworld.com.au.