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| Location | Burton Street Tabernacle 39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales |
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| Coordinates | 33°52′43″S151°12′58″E / 33.878659°S 151.216067°E |
Darlinghurst Theatre was an independent theatre company based at the Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst, New South Wales. Founded in 1993, it went into voluntary administration in 2024.
Glenn Terry established the company in 1993 initially as an inner-city drama school. Darlinghurst Theatre productions were originally based at the Wayside Theatre in the heart of Kings Cross. [1] A devastating hailstorm in 1999 destroyed its roof and the company looked for a new home. South Sydney Council assisted by providing a venue with affordable rent in what was known as the Reginald Murphy Hall on Greenknowe Ave in Elizabeth Bay. [2]
In 2001, with financial support from the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts, The Grosvenor Club and numerous individuals, A$500,000 worth of internal renovations was largely completed by Glenn Terry and friends, many of whom were jobbing actors, writers and directors.[ when? ] At the time of the renovations, Sydney's Her Majesty's Theatre was closed and some of that theatre's equipment found a new home at the new Darlinghurst Theatre, including 80 red leather seats, dressing room mirrors, lighting, and bar equipment. [3]
The Darlinghust Theatre operated in Elizabeth Bay from 2001 till 2013, when it expanded by moving to the newly refurbished 200-seat Eternity Playhouse on Burton St, Darlinghurst, with the assistance of the City of Sydney and Arts NSW, in November 2013. Terry remained artistic director, bringing a dedicated team over with him to The Eternity. The old Darlinghurst Theatre venue was renamed the Hayes Theatre in 2014. [4]
From 2016 until 2018, the theatre partnered with Women in Theatre and Screen (WITS) to present an annual all-female theatre festival called Festival Fatale. [5] It launched in 2016 as part of WITS' larger work advocating for gender representation on stage and includes readings and staged plays. [6] [7] [8]
Terry retired as executive director in 2022, after leading the company for 30 years. His long-term co-artistic director of six years, Amylia Harris, took over, until stepping away in 2023 for family reasons.
In June 2024, Darlinghurst Theatre was placed into voluntary administration. [9]
The cultural life of Sydney is dynamic and multicultural. Many of the individual cultures that make up the Sydney mosaic are centred on the cultural, artistic, ethnic, linguistic and religious communities formed by waves of immigration. Sydney is a major global city with a vibrant scene of musical, theatrical, visual, literary and other artistic activity.
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