ABOVE: The Waikato Regional Theatre site in December 2024. PHOTO: Foster Group.
This is the review of the Theatre project from the Momentum Waikato Annual Report 2024 - see full report in PDF.
This was the year the Waikato Regional Theatre blossomed into full public view.
At the beginning of 2024, two-and-a-half years after work had begun, construction had reached street-level and a few walls and pillars were just starting to poke out around and above the Hamilton Hotel façade.
A year later, the full form of the whole Theatre complex is now there to see. The walls stand several stories into the air, the giant box of the fly tower defines the South End skyline, and the century-old heritage façade is no longer held up by giant rust-brown props, with its restoration now underway.
Inside, huge windows face the river from the foyer, the balconies are in place in the auditorium, the tall gap between that giant hall and the commercial spaces behind the Hotel façade is now a glass-roofed atrium, and the internal fit-out is in full swing. The completion of the build is now just months away.
Momentum Waikato’s effort to fuel all this work with fundraising and marketing continued through the year, with several firms joining the ‘Share the Stage Business Collective Support’ scheme and some larger sponsorships being secured.
Rachel Waldegrave from real estate company Bayleys Waikato, which is amongst the ‘Silver Sponsors’, told the world that the Theatre “aligns perfectly” with their brand and values. Andrew Miller from Roar Coaching, a Business Collective sponsor, said the collective achievement of the Theatre made him proud of the local business community and its ability to work together.
Meanwhile, seats in the auditorium continued to be sponsored by individuals, families and groups donating to the ‘Take a Seat’ initiative.
One of them was Sally Forrest from London, who has never visited New Zealand, but became excited by the Theatre project after meeting Waikato Regional Property Trust Chair Ross Hargood when they were both on holiday in Portugal.
Closer to home, Maggie Swain decided to name a seat after her late husband, University of Waikato sociologist Dr David Swain, in part because her nephew David Middlemiss is Foster Construction’s Theatre site manager.
The major donors and representatives of the supporting funding bodies were hosted at a function on the Theatre site in September, giving them an insight into the building’s key spaces and a chance to celebrate the unfolding achievement they have helped make happen.
To all the donors, whatever the scale of your contribution, Momentum Waikato extends its deepest thanks, on behalf of everyone who will enjoy the Theatre in the decades ahead.
Over the year, the Waikato Times ran enough stories to introduce a Theatre section on their website’s homepage.
The river view from the Theatre foyer. PHOTO: Mark Servian.
For instance, in May a ‘debut performance of sorts’ happened on the Theatre’s main stage. Paris Eyeington, whose day job with Rigger Brothers had him bolting steel beams together, showed off his acting chops by reprising his then-recent role in the play Chaplin.
In November, it was announced the Hamilton City Council’s Municipal Endowment Fund was loaning money to the developers of the commercial and hospitality premises on the street-side of the complex, to ensure they could open at the same time as the Theatre.
The distinction between the two connected projects needed to be publicly asserted at that point, partially because earlier in the year Theatre Manager Gus Sharp had publicly assured the city’s councillors that the Theatre project itself would not be seeking further grants for the construction.
Throughout the year, the Waikato Regional Property Trust, as the Theatre’s owners, was determinedly working away in the background on its future operation, with the aim of meeting three goals:
to bring in a steady stream of touring shows;
to provide fair and easy community access;
to ensure the building is well maintained and further developed.
In December Gus publicly announced the Waikato Regional Property Trust had reached agreement with Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company, to manage the Theatre for its first fifteen years of operation. This move will certainly meet and exceed the three operational imperatives above, promising the venue will host a steady stream of world-class entertainment and cultural and community events for audiences from near and far.
The Waikato Regional Theatre has been a long time coming, it being nearly nine years since it was first proposed, in what was a different time and world. Despite numerous hurdles, including challenges like Covid that could not have been reasonably predicted, the project is now on the home straight. This is an achievement that will be enjoyed for generations to come - everyone who has helped make it happen can be hugely proud.
The Theatre's auditorium taking shape. PHOTO: Debbie Stevens.