Belvoir St Theatre

Belvoir St Theatre, commonly known as Belvoir, is a theatre in Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, the home of the theatre company Belvoir. It contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat Downstairs Theatre.[1]

Not to be confused with Belvoir (theatre company).

Belvoir St Theatre
LocationBelvoir Street, Surry Hills,
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
TypeIndoor theatre
Seating typeReserved
Opened1984
Website
belvoir.com.au

Converted from a former tomato sauce factory, the theatre opened in 1974 as the Nimrod Theatre for the Nimrod Theatre Company. The first production at the theatre was rock musical The Bacchoi.[2]

It was renamed as "'Belvoir St" in 1984 by Sue Hill and Chris Westwood when the building was purchased by a syndicate of people (Belvoir Street Theatre Pty Ltd).[3] The syndicate also established the non-profit organisation "Company B" to manage the theatre and produce shows. [4] There are currently 600 shareholders,[5] including noted actors, directors, writers and performers Robyn Archer, Gillian Armstrong, Peter Carey, Judy Davis, Mel Gibson, Max Gillies, Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, David Williamson, Neil Armfield and Colin Friels. Previous shareholders have also included Joan Sutherland, Ruth Cracknell, Gwen Plumb, Dorothy Hewett, Mike Willesee and Patrick White.

Renovations costing around A$11.6 million commenced in 2005 and were delayed in 2006 with the discovery of asbestos in the building's roof. The theatre reopened in October 2006 with the Sydney season of It Just Stopped by Stephen Sewell.[6]

Balnaves Fellowship

The Balnaves Foundation is a private philanthropic organisation founded by media executive Neil Balnaves AO in 2006.[7]

In 2011 the Balnaves Foundation established support for two Indigenous-led works per year at Belvoir. It also created the Balnaves Award, which evolved into the Balnaves Fellowship in 2021. The fellowship is awarded to a playwright or director or writer/director, who is given A$25,000 over 12 months to create a new work, spending two days a week over 10 months as a resident artist at Belvoir.[8]

Past recipients of the award or fellowship include:

References
  1. "Venue Hire". Belvoir St Theatre. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  2. "LIFE STYLE TALKING POINT New Nimrod Theatre opens". The Canberra Times. Vol. 48, no. 13, 774. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 June 1974. p. 18. Retrieved 20 July 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. Cousins, Robert (4 June 2011). "Belvoir St: coming of age". The Australian. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  4. "Records of Company B at Belvoir Street Theatre".
  5. "About". Belvoir St. Theatre. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  6. Jinman, Richard (26 July 2006). "Asbestos in the roof the latest drama at Belvoir Street". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. "Who We Are". Balnaves Foundation. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  8. "Fellowship and Residencies". Belvoir St Theatre. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

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