harbour theatre inc

JARROD’S JARGON*

Hello from Harbour Theatre - it’s nearly halfway through the year…

Thank you to those who attended our AGM in March. We provided a summary of our activities in 2024 ( 'The Vicar of Dibley' ) and an update on the situation at the Mosman Park Memorial Hall (Camelot).

As a reminder:
- Mosman Park Memorial Hall is owned by the Town of Mosman Park (TOMP).
- The building was managed by MosArts for many years. Their lease ended mid-2023.
- The Perth International Jazz Festival (PIJF) commenced management around August 2023.
- In September 2023, the ceiling in the indoor theatre partially collapsed overnight, resulting in an immediate halt of our production 'Banging Denmark'.
- Repairs and compliance issues took over a year, in which we were unable to access the theatre space.
- The ceiling of the indoor theatre is now repaired and it looks great!

At the start of 2025, PIJF assigned management of the building to an independent marketing agency. They were enthusiastic about getting the indoor theatre back up and running, and Harbour Theatre expressed interest in staging a production in the second half of the year.

In April 2025, we were told that there was a three-week booking available for late August/early September. We had an interested director and a potential production. Camelot’s new management requested specific dates and times, which we provided.

We started making preparations for our proposed production while negotiations continued between Harbour and Camelot management. After all, both parties needed to be comfortable. In late May, Camelot management provided a fixed quote, which we accepted.

Everything was ready to go ahead, when Camelot management asked if we could switch our production to October due to some renovations in September. This prompted a flurry of internal discussions. We had planned for August/September - could we now change to October? The short answer is no. The director and other essential people would not be available for October.

With the greatest respect, finding an alternative show would mean starting from scratch, in limited time, with limited people. Like many community theatres, Harbour Theatre is run by volunteers. We have lives. Two of our committee are currently overseas, and it’s just not possible to keep chasing and chasing productions at short notice.

We still want to put on shows, but it has to be when both a venue, and our people, are available. Our current director would like to try again next year. In the meantime, we have proposed some dates for 2026 to the Camelot management.

Unfortunately, Harbour Theatre will be without a production in 2025. We apologise, but time and circumstances are against us. We hope to be back in 2026.

Jarrod Buttery, President, Harbour Theatre.


* Content has been edited