The Roleystone Theatre group has thanked the City of Armadale for their quick response following a ceiling collapse in the venue’s foyer last month, which threatened the theatre’s play schedule.
Committee member Bree Hartley said on September 21 while driving to Busselton she received a call the theatre’s alarm was going off.
“So our president went up to have a look and walked in and there’s part of the ceiling from the foyer on the ground,” she said.
“The foyer suffered a partial ceiling collapse due to termite damage and the repair schedule meant the Storytime in the Hills could not go ahead.”
She said while they had to reschedule the Storytime in the Hills days they wanted to make sure the theatre’s next big production Little Shop of Horrors – opening on November 18 – went ahead.
“We got in contact with the council immediately and the very next morning they had the council and builder out to assess it,” she said.
Little Shop of Horrors director Lys Tickner said work had already begun on the foyer ceiling and they looked on track to open on schedule.
“They have taken all the debris away and fixed up the roof and sprayed for termites and are replacing the foyer ceiling,” she said.
“We open next month and we’ve been assured it will all be done for our opening night.”
When she found out the roof had collapsed Ms Tickner said she had a sinking feeling because only a week before Perth’s oldest community theatre group Playlovers were left without a home when Nedlands council closed Hackett Hall.
“We actually were feeling quite devastated because the week before another well known longer standing theatre got shut down by their council because the council didn’t maintain it,” she said.
“Basically they had the title of the longest standing community theatre in Perth and we’re second or third.
“When we went up and saw our ceiling collapsed the first thing that flashed in our mind was will the council want to repair this?
“Where we have an absolutely brilliant relationship with the City of Armadale, it wasn’t the same with Playlovers.”
Ms Tickner said the city had been fantastic to deal with.
A City of Armadale spokesman said damaged ceiling boards and rafters were replaced and the white ants were being treated.
He said repairs were expected to be completed soon.
Ms Tickner encouraged people to come see Little Shop of Horrors when it opened.
“Little Shop of Horrors has been my dream to do it for 10 years now and it’s the first musical I’ve directed,” she said.
“In a nutshell I guess it’s a very dark love story. You’ve got Audrey and Seymour, your classic nerd and he comes across a strange plant, which he takes back to his florist shop.
“In exchange for love advice Seymour discovers the plant thrives on blood, the more blood he feeds to the plant the more his dreams come true.”
To book tickets visit www.roleystonetheatre.com.au.
