How one venue’s closure can damage the arts ecology of a city

The impending closure of the Bakehouse Theatre in May 2022 is potentially devastating for Adelaide’s independent arts sector.

After 23 years as a home for new Australian theatre, Adelaide’s Bakehouse Theatre will be forced to shut its doors in May 2022.

The news was officially confirmed by the theatre’s management on Saturday 24 July.

‘The building has recently been sold and at the time of the sale we were confident that the new landlords would renew our lease in the same way that the previous landlords had done,’ said Artistic Director Pamela Munt in a statement to the media.

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

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