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 OAM is ArtsHub's 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 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts