Beloved theatre reopens its doors for Sydney Fringe
The historic Palmer Street venue will reopen in September as the Off Broadway Hub for this year's Sydney Fringe Festival. The Playhouse stage has been dark since resident company Darlinghurst Theatre went into liquidation in June last year.
'It's just so nice that those doors will be open again,' says Patrick Kennedy, confirmed last night as the festival's new CEO after being appointed on an interim basis about a month ago. 'It was a real loss to the community having those doors shuttered. We're terrifically overwhelmed to be the first people back.'
Kennedy, who took on the top job following the resignation of long-time CEO Kerri Glasscock, said the festival had worked tirelessly with the City of Sydney to be able to seal the Playhouse deal, revealing the contract was finally inked last Friday.
A City of Sydney spokesperson said the council would operate the theatre for the next three years, the Fringe being the first event to use the venue.
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'The City of Sydney will introduce a range of locally produced performing arts in 2026, and we look forward to an exciting year ahead with a full line-up of performances taking over the theatre,' the spokesperson said.
'Long term, we intend to lease the theatre to a resident company or operator to ensure the theatre remains operational.'
This year's Fringe festival, which starts on September 1, will feature more than 460 events across 10 festival hubs and four separate precincts – inner west, central, eastern and Greater Sydney.
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