The Australian Theatre for Young People could be forced to close its doors if the Berejiklian Government does not see through its promised redevelopment of Walsh Bay, the arts company's chairman has warned.
Testing of the condition of Pier 2/3, part of the Coalition's much-vaunted Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, is only now underway one year after the national youth theatre company relocated to Darlinghurst.
ATYP helped launch the career of actor Rose Byrne. Credit:Rebecca Lorrimer
The ATYP, Bell Shakespeare, Sydney Writers' Festival and Australian Chamber Orchestra were scheduled to move back into the refurbished heritage wharf in 2020 but construction has yet to start.
The company that nurtured Rose Byrne and Rebel Wilson as child actors lost more than $200,000 in revenue due to its relocation, ATYP's latest annual report shows.
Chairman Chris Puplick said the potential consequences for the company were dire if the Berejiklian government did not see through its entire Walsh Bay plan and fully meet its promises.
''Moving has been an absolute nightmare for ATYP,'' Mr Puplick, a former federal Liberal senator, said. ''But we have been sustained on the basis of [Art's Minister] Don Harwin’s assurances that the Berejiklian government is committed to Pier 2/3 and that our new home will allow us to develop further as Australia’s leading youth theatre company.
''In the short term, our revenue has taken a massive hit with limited off-site studios for our young people’s workshop programme and playing gypsies to find performance venues.
Chairman Chris Puplick: if they fail us then I give no guarantee that the company can continue.
''In the long run, it should all be worth it when we get back our Pier2/3 home as we have been promised by the Berejiklian government. If they fail us then I give no guarantee that the company can continue. That would be both a scandal and a tragedy.''
New "redevelopment and design options" for Pier 2/3 are to be considered by the government in November. Tenants are concerned they may be asked to contribute funds from reserves already depleted by their move from Walsh Bay or that the scope and budget of the project has changed.
Founded in 1963 ATYP aims to help young people develop a love of theatre while championing young talent. Its new quarters at the revamped Walsh Bay is to replace its old home at Studio 1 on Pier 4/5, which had been noisy and cold in winter, hot in summer and without dressing rooms.
Create NSW's deputy secretary of community engagement, Kate Foy, told Parliament this month that preparatory works testing the condition of Pier 2/3 had only started.
''In terms of Wharf 2/3, we have a pier – a heritage pier – over the water there,'' Ms Foy told a budget estimates hearing. ''It is very much a blank box. We are doing some preparatory works at the moment to investigate the condition – a condition survey – of those structures for 2/3.''
ATYP alumni, Rebel Wilson.
In response to questions from Labor's Walt Secord about a funding shortfall, Ms Foy said there was an ''envelope of funding'' for Pier 2/3.
ATYP's annual report shows negotiations dragged on for Pier 2/3 so late last year the company had to delay the launch of its donations program. And, as other tenants have discovered, conversations with major donors around capital contributions have led to a fall in annual giving for the company's day-to-day activities. Revenue from funding raising and corporate sponsorship fell from $733,880 to $516,274.
Meanwhile, the company's relocation to smaller facilities at the Stables Theatre in Darlinghurst resulted in an immediate drop in income for its holiday workshops. Box office receipts fell from $111,128 to $72,323.
Create NSW has given ATYP $160,000 to offset the company's relocation costs.
The move occurred as ATYP delivered one of its largest artistic programs in the company's history. ''For staff and the board it was a little like changing the tyres on a car without stopping,'' artistic director Fraser Corfield said.
Source: Read Full Article