Holden Street Theatres

Last updated

Holden Street Theatres
All Saints' Anglican Church
Holden Street Theatres, Hindmarsh.JPG
The Studio as seen from the road at Holden Street Theatres.
Address34 Holden Street
Hindmarsh
Australia
TypeTheatre
Construction
Broke ground1849
Built1850
ArchitectHenry Stuckey
Website
www.holdenstreettheatres.com

Holden Street Theatres (HST) is a South Australian performing arts theatre complex in Hindmarsh, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide. It is housed in the heritage-listed All Saints' Anglican Church (also known as All Saints' Church) complex. The complex includes three performance spaces: The Studio, The Arch and The Bar, and is home to the Holden Street Theatre Company.

Contents

Holden Street Theatres hosts performances at the Adelaide Fringe, the Feast Festival, and the Guitars in Bars festival, as well as year-round productions by local, national and international artists. It is home to resident theatre companies Holden Street Theatre Company and Red Phoenix Theatre.

The headquarters are at Thebarton Theatre, with which HST is in partnership.

Location and description

The complex is located at 34 Holden Street, Hindmarsh, next to Coopers Stadium. [1]

There are three performance spaces within the complex: The Studio (up to 150 seats), The Arch (125 seats, named for its proscenium arch ceiling), and The Bar (capacity 60–100 people). An extra performance space and two galleries are provided during the Adelaide Fringe. The head office is at the Thebarton Theatre, which is in partnership with Holden Street Theatres. [2]

History (building)

Holden Street Theatres is situated in what was originally the All Saints' Anglican Church. Built in the Norman style the limestone and brick church was designed by Henry Stuckey. Bishop Augustus Short laid the foundation stone in 1849, [3] and the church that was opened on 23 June 1850. During this time a rectory was also built near by to house the clergy for the church. In 1955 a gallery was built with a chancel and vestry being added in 1872. [4] Due to lack of funds the church had to rely on donations from the community to add the chancel and vestry, with local Thebarton resident, John Taylor, donating a majority of the £272 needed. [5] Several years later the All Saints Church Hall was built nearby. Designed in a similar style to the church, it was opened on 28 March 1883. [4]

The buildings were listed on the former Register of the National Estate on 28 September 1982 and on the South Australian Heritage Register on 23 November 1989. [6] [7] During the later part of the 20th century the church, hall and rectory became disused, until the site was taken on by the City of Charles Sturt and became a space for lease. [8]

In 2002 the church and hall were leased by Weslo Holdings under guidance of artistic director Martha Lott to be used as a theatre venue, while the Nature Foundation SA took over the rectory as its head offices. [8] Lott, who is Adelaide-born, had studied acting for three years at Drama Centre London. She then moved to Sydney and started working in retail and business management for nearly five years before returning to Adelaide. [9]

The original church was renovated in 2004 to become The Arch. [10]

In December 2020 the Nature Foundation of South Australia moved out of the rectory and it was incorporated into Holden Street Theatres to create the Holden Street Theatres' Arts Park. It offers several more rooms and a garden to be used as rehearsal or performance spaces. [11]

Associated companies and events

Holden Street Theatres is the home of Red Phoenix Theatre Company, [1] a local South Australian community theatre company that is dedicated to producing only plays which have not been performed in Adelaide before. [12]

Holden Street Theatre Company is also resident at the complex, [1] presenting its debut show, Looped , in May 2023, and thereafter planning to present three shows a year. [13]

Holden Street Theatres outside seating set up for Fringe season. Holden Street Theatres 2019 Fringe Season.jpg
Holden Street Theatres outside seating set up for Fringe season.

The venue also hosts many events as part of the Adelaide Fringe, the annual open-access arts festival; Feast Festival, an annual festival celebrating the LGBT community; and the Guitars in Bars festival, an annual festival aimed at getting more local music into small venues. [14]

As of April 2023 founder Martha Lott is still artistic director of the theatre. [13]

Notable shows

The Holden Street Theatre Company presents its debut show, Looped , on 2 May 2023. It is a Broadway play by New York writer Matthew Lombardo inspired by an incident which occurred during mid-20th century American stage and film actress Tallulah Bankhead's last movie role, playing a religious fanatic in the 1965 horror film Die! Die! My Darling! . Bankhead was known for her unpredictable and sometimes outrageous behaviour. The play is directed by Peter Goers, who in 2004 co-directed the first show at the theatre, California Suite by Neil Simon. [13]

Holden Street Theatres Awards

Holden Street Theatres also gives out two annual awards, one at the Adelaide Fringe and one at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Holden Street Theatres' Edinburgh Fringe Award gives support to the winning company to tour its show at the following Adelaide Fringe. The award is open to theatre shows performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe who have not previously performed the show in Australia. [15]

Holden Street Theatres' Edinburgh Fringe Award winners:

The Holden Street Theatres' Adelaide Fringe Award is awarded to a local producer during the Adelaide Fringe and gives support in the form of venue and rehearsal spaces for a new production from the company.

Holden Street Theatres' Adelaide Fringe Award winners:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide</span> Capital city of South Australia, Australia

Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the fifth and sixth most populous cities in Australia and Oceania, respectively. The name "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide or the Adelaide city centre. The demonym Adelaidean is used to denote the city and the residents of Adelaide. The traditional owners of the Adelaide region are the Kaurna. The area of the city centre and surrounding Park Lands is called Tarndanya in the Kaurna language.

Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival, held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, it features more than 7,000 artists from around Australia and the world. Over 1,300 events are staged in hundreds of venues, which include work in a huge variety of performing and visual art forms. The Fringe features many free events occur alongside ticketed events for the duration of the festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Festival</span> Cultural event in Australia

The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural event in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fringe theatre</span> Theatre that is experimental in style or subject matter

Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In London, the fringe are small-scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's Off-Off-Broadway theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwood, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about 4 km (2.5 mi) east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodville, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Woodville is a suburb of Adelaide, situated about 8 km (5 mi) north-west of the Adelaide city centre. It lies within the City of Charles Sturt. The postcode of Woodville is 5011. Woodville is bound by Cheltenham Parade to the west, Torrens Road to the north, Port Road to the south and Park Street to the east, excluding the area of Cheltenham Park Racecourse. The population was 2,180 at the 2021 Australian census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thebarton, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Thebarton, formerly Theberton, on Kaurna land, is an inner-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of West Torrens. The suburb is bounded by the River Torrens to the north, Port Road and Bonython Park to the east, Kintore Street to the south, and South Road to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Adelaide</span>

Music of Adelaide includes music relating to the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It includes all genres of both live and recorded music by artists born or living in the city, live music events happening in the city, and other aspects of the music industry relating to Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thebarton Theatre</span>

The Thebarton Theatre, also known as the Thebbie Theatre or simply Thebbie/Thebby, is an entertainment venue located in the inner-western Adelaide suburb of Torrensville, South Australia. Built in 1926 as a combined town hall / picture theatre and officially known as Thebarton Town Hall and Municipal Offices, the building was opened in June 1928. It was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register on 23 September 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mile End, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Mile End is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, located in the City of West Torrens, around 2 kilometres from the Adelaide city centre. It has a census area population of 4,413 people (2011). Much of the suburb is residential, but there are small commercial areas along Henley Beach Road and South Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindmarsh, South Australia</span> Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia

Hindmarsh is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt.

Arts South Australia was responsible for managing the South Australian Government's funding for the arts and cultural heritage from about 1996 until late 2018, when it was progressively dismantled, a process complete by early 2019. Most of its functions were taken over by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) under Premier Steven Marshall, while some went to the Department for Education and others to the Department for Innovation and Skills.

Brink Productions is an Australian theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia, specialising in the ensemble-development of new writing. Founded in 1996, its productions have toured interstate, and as of 2024 the company continues to produce stage performances in Adelaide and regional South Australia. Stephen Nicolazzo has been artistic director since April 2024.

Bryony Kimmings is a British live artist based in London and Cambridgeshire. She is an associate artist of the Soho Theatre, and, in 2016, was commissioned to write The Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer for Complicite Associates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelaide Central School of Art</span> Art school in Adelaide, Australia

Adelaide Central School of Art is an independent, not-for-profit, accredited higher education provider of tertiary courses in the visual arts, located in Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide Central School of Art uses the atelier model of visual arts education. The school offers an associate degree of Visual Art, Bachelor of Visual Art, and Bachelor of Visual Art (Hons), and short courses, workshops and masterclasses.

The Junction Theatre Company was South Australia's first professional community theatre company, founded in 1984. It was located in the Adelaide suburb of Thebarton, until its closure in 2002. Its touring productions were performed in schools, factories and other workplaces, with the aim of reaching sections of the community who may not otherwise access theatre. In its early days it was a proponent of the Art and Working Life funding program. Geoff Crowhurst was its most prominent artistic director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ActNow Theatre</span> South Australian theatre company

ActNow Theatre is a theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 2007, it is a community-based company whose work focuses on social justice issues and techniques. From 2007 until 2020, the artistic director/CEO was Edwin Kemp Attrill. In 2021 he was succeeded by Yasmin Gurreeboo.

The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They take place in Adelaide, South Australia every November. The venue has varied over the years.

<i>The Choir of Man</i> Theatrical production

The Choir of Man is a British musical created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay. Set in a traditional British or Irish pub, the show features a working on-stage bar from which pints of beer are poured for the audience during the performance. Throughout the show, the cast of nine multi-instrumentalist singers perform arrangements of well known pop and rock songs arranged and orchestrated by the show's musical supervisor Jack Blume, while dialogue takes the form of spoken word monologues written by performance poet Ben Norris. The movement direction and choreography is by tap dancer Freddie Huddleston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Clifford (theatre entrepreneur)</span> South Australian cinema entrepreneur

Dan Clifford was a well-known cinema entrepreneur and philanthropist in South Australia. He was also a keen promoter of the cinema industry, and owned 20 cinemas across the state at the time of his death, including several in Art Deco style, such as the Piccadilly Theatre and the Goodwood Star.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Frequently Asked Questions". Holden Street Theatres. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. "Venue Hire". Holden Street Theatres. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  3. "All Saint's Church, Hindmarsh". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 aquilareen (18 September 2012), Hindmarsh All Saints Anglican church , retrieved 9 August 2019
  5. "All Saints Church, Hindmarsh". South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889). 15 January 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  6. "All Saints Anglican Church (former), Hindmarsh Pl (sic), Hindmarsh, SA, Australia - listing on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate (Place ID 6265)". Australian Heritage Database . Australian Government. 28 September 1982. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  7. "The South Australia Heritage Places database". maps.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  8. 1 2 Awde, Nick (2 August 2017). "From Edinburgh to Adelaide: Holden Street Theatres' award that takes fringe shows to Australia". The Stage. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  9. Keen, Suzie (21 August 2020). "Martha Lott: 'It was really in my teenage years that I found theatre was a place just for me'". SA Life . Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  10. "Our Past". Holden Street Theatres. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  11. "Introducing The Holden Street Theatres' Arts Park". InDaily . 17 December 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  12. "Red Phoenix Theatre 2019 [home]". Red Phoenix Theatre. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  13. 1 2 3 Keen, Suzie (14 April 2023). "Holden Street turns to Tallulah as it enters a new era". InDaily . Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  14. "Home". Guitars In Bars. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  15. Street, 180 High; Edinburgh; Eh1 1qs; Kingdom +44131 226 0026, United. "Theatre awards". Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Retrieved 23 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. "The Tailor of Inverness". Dogstar Theatre Company. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  17. "Adelaide Theatre Guide: South Australia's Comprehensive Internet Guide to Local Arts". www.theatreguide.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  18. "Fringe Vault". fringevault.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  19. "Fringe Vault". fringevault.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  20. "Glory Dazed". Australian Arts Review. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  21. "Bitch Boxer". Oberon Books. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  22. Street, 180 High; Edinburgh; Eh1 1qs; Kingdom +44131 226 0026, United. "The curtain falls on world's greatest arts festival for 2014". Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Retrieved 23 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. "'Blood at the Root' honored at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, headed to Australia | Penn State University". news.psu.edu. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  24. Harris, Samela. "Labels by Joe Sellman-Leava". www.thebarefootreview.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  25. "Holden Street Theatres' Edinburgh Award Winners | Adelaide Fringe - 14 February - 15 March 2020". adelaidefringe.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  26. Crawley, Peter. "Stacey Gregg's play Scorch wins a Fringe First in Edinburgh". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  27. BWW News Desk. "Award-Winning ANGEL Will Return to Holden Street Theatres". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  28. "Award-winning Flesh & Bone". Global Media Post. 19 January 2018.
  29. "Molly Taylor on legacy, Edinburgh and Extinguished Things". The Adelaide Review. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  30. BWW News Desk. "The Stephen Joseph Theatre's BUILD A ROCKET Heads Down Under". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  31. "News: All The Winners Of Edinburgh Fringe Awards". Beyond The Joke. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  32. "Fringe review: Jesus, Jane, Mother & Me". InDaily. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  33. Awde, Nick (2 August 2017). "From Edinburgh to Adelaide: Holden Street Theatres' award that takes fringe shows to Australia". The Stage. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  34. "OUR AMAZING 2018 BANKSA FRINGE AWARD WINNERS | Adelaide Fringe - 14 February - 15 March 2020". adelaidefringe.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  35. "2019 BankSA Fringe Award Winners | Adelaide Fringe - 14 February - 15 March 2020". adelaidefringe.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  36. "2020 BankSA Award Winners | Adelaide Fringe - 19 February - 21 March 2021". adelaidefringe.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  37. "2021 Adelaide Fringe Awards | Adelaide Fringe - 19 February - 21 March 2021". adelaidefringe.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2021.