News

Pop-up theatre space will aid flood recovery

NORPA is reconnecting culture and community in Lismore a year on from 2022’s devastating floods.

21 Mar 2023 16:25

Richard Watts

Performing Arts

NORPA Executive Director Libby Lincoln and Artistic Director Julian Louis in the space at Lismore Showground that NORPA will transform into a theatre-making hub. Photo: Kate Holmes.

A year on from the so-called ‘rain bomb’ that deluged the Northern Rivers community at the end of February 2022, NORPA (Northern Rivers Performing Arts) is utilising the power of the arts to rekindle creativity in the region and reconnect with its community.

‘I think the thing that happens [in a disaster] is that it tests your current plans. It really does bring you back to first principles,’ says NORPA Artistic Director Julian Louis.

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Join Now Login

Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's former National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts