Sydney theatres underutilised and expensive

Sydney’s theatre venues are used for performance less than a third of the time, while producers struggle to find an affordable venue, an independent study has found.
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A ghost light illuminating a darkened theatre: photo by Jon Ellwood via wikipedia.

Playwright, director and theatre producer Steven Hopley conducted the study independently to investigate the challenges faced by the city’s theatre-makers.

The Sydney Theatre Report 2015 identified a severe shortage of affordable, suitable theatre venues in Sydney. There are currently no venues available for hire with less than 100 seats or under $2000 per week in rental.

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts