Our Future
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6 October 2024
Dear Canberra Theatre Centre supporters,
I’m delighted to let you know that the Community Engagement phase of the Canberra Theatre Centre Redevelopment project has begun. It’s an important step in the project, as it gives you the opportunity to contribute to the future of our iconic, vibrant and inclusive venue and to make sure it caters to the needs of audiences for the next 50+ years.
Some of the way you can have your say include:
- filling out an online survey at: yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/canberratheatreproject
- visiting a pop-up at the Canberra Centre on Thursday 12 October 2023 and Thursday 26 October 2023
- answering a quick poll at one of the pop-up stands on an interactive iPad from mid-October
- speaking to the pop-up team before selected performances
I look forward to your valuable feedback, and hope to see you in our foyer soon.
Alex Budd
Director, Canberra Theatre Centre
11 May 2023
Dear Canberra Theatre Centre supporters,
In an exciting step today, Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced Architectus, Danish Architects Henning Larsen, international theatre designers Arup and a First Nations consultancy team (Yerrabingin) as the Design Partner consortium chosen to deliver new designs for an expanded and reimagined Canberra Theatre Centre. Collaborating with these firms enables us to become a performing arts centre of national significance and supports Canberra’s position as a leader in the national cultural conversation.
An expanded and reimagined Centre, that includes a new 2,000 seat Theatre, will be a destination for performance, ceremony and engagement across all performing art forms, cultures, and generations, reflecting 60,000 years of storytelling.
It will increase our capacity for productions of scale to be created and presented in Canberra and enable the presentation of a diverse range of productions. Alongside curating works from across Australia and the rest of the world, our reimagined Centre will embrace and enhance Canberra’s performing arts industry.
This is the beginning of an exciting journey for the national capital, and performances will continue throughout the redevelopment—our box office remains open!
I look forward to keeping you abreast of this thrilling transformation, and seeing you at one of the fantastic productions included below, or another of the approximately 500 performances you can experience at Canberra Theatre Centre each year.
Best wishes,
Alex Budd
Director, Canberra Theatre Centre
2 December 2022
To our Canberra Theatre Centre supporters,
What a year it’s been! Our doors stayed open and we immersed our audiences in incredible live performances. 2022 had everything from musical theatre and drama, to comedy, live music and children’s entertainment.
The Ibsen Award winning company, Back to Back Theatre, made their premiere in the nation’s capital with the acclaimed and inspiring The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes. SIX The Musical took Canberra by storm, selling more tickets in season than ever before. Bob Dylan’s soaring melodies transported us back to 1930s Minnesota in Girl From The North Country. Whitefella Yella Tree made us laugh and cry in equal measure, and Gravity & Other Myths’ Backbone took us to new (and impossible) heights. These are just a few highlights from a busy and buzzing year.
Now we look ahead to 2023 with exciting changes around the corner. The Canberra Theatre Centre Redevelopment is underway, including planning for a new two thousand-seat theatre and a refurbishment of the Playhouse. The ACT Government has selected three internationally recognised leaders in innovative theatre and architectural design, Architectus, DesignInc and Hassell, to submit a tender to become design partner. We are excited to embark on this next chapter of the design process.
We’re also investigating new systems that will modernise the way we operate, make it much easier to purchase a ticket, and improve your overall online experience.
Our goal is always to bring you the best productions and the widest range Australia has to offer, and with more than 150 events programmed each year, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
On behalf of the team here, I’d like to thank you for your ongoing support of Canberra Theatre Centre and live performance. We wish you a happy and restful holiday season, and we look forward to welcoming you to Canberra Theatre Centre for a mesmerising, playful and captivating 2023.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Budd
Director, Canberra Theatre Centre
28 July 2022
Dear Canberra Theatre Centre supporters,
Today heralds the start of an exciting journey for the Canberra Theatre Centre, and I wanted you, our valued audience, to be among the first to hear the news. ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr & Arts Minister, Tara Cheyne have announced this morning funding of $28.44 million, in order to commence a major component of works, including detailed designs for the expansion of the Canberra Theatre Centre, including a new major theatre. The project will be the largest undertaken at the Canberra Theatre Centre since its construction in 1965.
While we are most proud of all that we present to you in our current venues – including remarkable companies such as Bangarra Dance Theatre, who open Terrain at Canberra Theatre Centre tonight – there are limits to the scale of productions that visit Canberra due to the limitations of our stages, and the size of our auditoriums. A new major theatre of approximately 2,000 seats will revolutionise the productions and events that we can produce and present to you. I trust it will deepen your engagement with arts and culture in your city, and be an important contributor to the creative life of our capital.
Meanwhile, I encourage you to explore our website, and find yet another reason to visit us soon! Our diverse program of performances will continue throughout the planning and construction stages of the expansion. I look forward to sharing regular updates with you as we commence this journey, and hope that many of you will engage in broad-ranging consultations that will take place during this first stage of the project.
Kind regards,
Alex Budd
Director, Canberra Theatre Centre