10/08/2023
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! … till you have drench’d our steeples.
King Lear - William Shakespeare.
The Pelican Playhouse Theatre has experienced some challenges in the past four years.
The bushfire season that impacted the Clarence Valley, impacted some of the theatre members directly. Next came the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak. Theatres went dark around the world, with our Pelican Playhouse being no exception. In fact, it impacted us for the two years of 2020 and
2021. At the beginning of 2020, we had a season programme in place, with auditions and
rehearsals underway for two performances. These performances had to be stopped in their
tracks and haven’t been performed at all to date. In May/June 2021, we were able to perform ‘Stories in the Dark’, a powerful storytelling play. However, not long after in August, our ’Bombshells’ show had to be cancelled halfway through the run and mere hours before the curtains opened as stay-at-home orders were implemented across the state. ‘Bombshells’ was then revived for March 2022, but just as Opening Night was 4 nights away, the disastrous flooding for the Northern Rivers occurred.
The damage to our building was significant.
Since the floods of February/March 2022, The Pelican Playhouse has been very quiet, however
the committee has not been idle.
During that period, as the rain fell and the river rose, it was black water that became the biggest enemy.
Something compromised the sewage system and with the pressure of the floods, sewage came back up slowly through the pipes. It rose and rose and eventually swallowed the seating, the bar, the ticket area, the sound box and then eventually the stage and backstage. As it rose our small volunteer committee , on rotating shifts throughout 2 nights, did our best to pump out what we initially thought was flood water out of the inside of the theatre. There was only minimal pooling water from rain outside which was an unusual sight . We did not win the battle.
Despite our best efforts to pump on, the damage was done.
We acted quickly to follow up with insurers to make a recovery plan. Unfortunately, our insurer's assessment of the theatre deemed it badly contaminated. This meant too high a risk to the committee and any willing volunteers who were prepared to help in the cleanup. We needed to follow the insurer's recommendations to engage professional cleaners before we could re-enter the building and assess any further damage.
The bad news kept coming from further assessment. The flooding event really brought us to our knees.
We had to make the difficult decision to follow the advice and gut the entire bottom floor of the building. This included the stage, seating, floorboards, lining of the walls, the sound and lighting box and amenities.
The next step is to restore and rebuild the Pelican Playhouse. This is a massive project which will require substantial grant funding to support such major works. We want to rebuild in a way that keeps it safe from future damage, whilst retaining its history and cementing its longevity.
Since March 2022, we have been unable to perform in the building. We want to revive this community space that provided a platform for artists, musicians, actors, dancers, singers and community that wanted to engage in the arts. With the building being non-operational, this is impacting us in providing a service to the Clarence Valley and an opportunity for people to use this as a platform to express and entertain.
We are working on new events and productions for 2024, however the biggest challenge
remains The Pelican Playhouse itself.
Whilst we will do our best to revive this wonderful community space we ask you to continue to support the arts and keep your appetite ready for our next performance sometime in the future.
Another way to support is by following our socials, becoming a member and liking and sharing our story.
Until we meet again… break a leg!
