WATCH: New national theatre a ‘win’ as government consults creatives as theatre takes shape ahead of CHOGM

The former Deluxe Cinema is on track to be handed over as the country’s National Performing Arts Centre by September 30, with construction crews working two daily shifts to prepare the 850-seat venue ahead of CHOGM’s opening ceremony in November.

Members of the local creative community toured the facility on today, offering feedback on a space that officials say is designed to outlast the summit and serve the arts community as a permanent home for theatre, dance, and music in St. John’s.

Speaking to reporters following the walkthrough, Minister of Social and Urban Transformation Rawdon Turner led the walkthrough, and said the engagement with creatives was a deliberate part of the build-out process, with a follow-up meeting scheduled for next week when a professional stage and production company from the United States and the United Kingdom will be on island.

The minister confirmed that specific concerns raised by dancers about the stage surface were being addressed with the government looking to installing a wooden floor “to their specifications, and a number of other issues that were pointed out that we’re going to make consideration for.”

Construction is being carried out in two daily shifts, from 7 am to 3:30 pm and 3:30 pm to 11:30 pm with the minister satisfied with the pace of progress.

Khan Cordice, Director of Culture and one of the creative directors involved in the CHOGM opening ceremony, said the walkthrough reinforced the value of keeping dialogue open between the arts community and government.

He noted that the absence of proper facilities had long been a ceiling on what local performers could aspire to.

Choreographer Tavia Hunt, who is working alongside artistic director Zahra Airall on the CHOGM opening ceremony production, said the consultation process marked a departure from how infrastructure decisions affecting the arts had historically been handled.

Beyond the main theatre, the adjoining structure is earmarked for development as a multi-use space after CHOGM, with a fully functioning recording studio on the upper floor.

Airall said she was already looking past November to what the venue would mean for the country’s performing arts community in the years ahead.