History

” Established in 1932, we are a community driven theatre in South West WA. “

Bridgetown is a small town of about 4500 people in the rolling green hills of South Western Australia. The repertory club was first formed in 1932 and has continued to be active up to this time without any break. During the 2nd World War those members who were able pressed on raising money for the troops overseas. As most theatre groups suspended operations for the duration of the war, we think that this may make the club unique in W.A. and quite possibly in Australia.

During the late fifties the club members finally realised their long-held dream, a home of their own. Through hard work, a lot of community support and no Government assistance whatever they built the theatre pictured above. The building is privately owned by the club and is a one hundred and sixty five seat theatre with a sloped auditorium and a large stage. There are dressing rooms equipped with toilets on both sides of the stage, a large green room and a separate wardrobe building at the rear.

The auditorium, foyer, dressing rooms and green room are all now carpeted and airconditioned. Being now over 60 years old the building requires constant maintenance but the club is keeping on top of it. Listed below are some of the additions and improvements that have been accomplished during the last seven years or so.

2005: The front veranda was rebuilt to provide more room and to facilitate wheelchair access.

2006: Carpeting was laid in the foyer and auditorium.

2007: Airconditioning installed in the auditorium, a glass door fridge purchased for the kitchen and the female dressing room was refurbished with new walls, carpets, lighted mirrors, airconditioning and a new toilet.

2008: The foyer was redone with new panelling and paint and a new lighting platform built in front of the old lighting box. We also installed a camera out in the auditorium to allow the stage manager to follow the action on the stage when the view was blocked from the side of the stage by a set.

2009: A large new sign was located down near the highway and work commenced on the male dressing room. A deal was negotiated with the Shire and Main Roads to exchange land  to make more room for parking and to enable us to build a disabled toilet block. Although approved, it has yet to be finalised.

2010: The male dressing room was finished with new walls and ceiling, carpets, wash basin, toilet, lighted mirrors and airconditioning. A patio was built over the front veranda.

2011: Mostly repairs to the building and maintenance to the electrics. A new water heater was needed for the kitchen and we purchased a new industrial type vacuum cleaner for the green room. New lighted signs to advertise the shows were erected in place of the old metal ones which had been there since 1973.

2012: The green room was completely stripped out, re-insulated and the walls gyprocked. It was then painted and a brand new kitchen and new fridge installed. New carpet runners were then laid throughout the backstage area. This was accomplished with the assistance of Bunbury Prison and our thanks go to them for the great job they did. A TV monitor was also purchased for the foyer to entertain the audiences whilst they wait to go in.

2013: Repairs were carried out to the cladding on the roadside of the building and to the kitchen ceiling. The dimmable lighting was finally re-installed in the auditorium and a monitor was installed in the green room so as the cast could follow what is happening on stage. A pair of lockable glass fronted fridges were also purchased for the kitchen.

2014: A complete revamp of the area above the stage with everything being removed and a new truss system installed with two new sets of tab curtains complete with tracks plus three new sets of sky cloths. This will entail a revamp of the lighting bars and pulley systems. Great fun. (Update) This has now been completed and works a treat. We have also replaced all the old stage lights with digital ones (not in the original plan but, they needed to go sooner or later, so sooner it was.) Next job is to replace the guttering.