Editorial – RT76
The CarriageWorks, built in the 1880s in Sydney’s Redfern and now with radically redesigned interiors, is Performance Space’s magnificent new home. This new contemporary performing arts centre has two wonderful performing spaces (800 and 300 seats), one of them huge, with flexible seating and rigging and accoustically excellent, roomy high-ceilinged rehearsal studios, offices and a vast naturally lit balconied foyer ideal too for performance. In our hard hats with architect Tim Greer of Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, journalists and NSW Arts Minister Bob Debus, we heard the centre’s Director/CEO Sue Hunt describe Performance Space as “an anchor tenant”, “a key partner” and as “providing a backbone” for The CarriageWorks. Asked about the new home, Performance Space Director Fiona Winning is “very excited about the move, by the new environment for some of the things we’ve always done and the opportunity it offers us to do things we’ve never been able to do. Collaborating with artists, audiences and some new partners in the local area, we’ll be opening in March with a program that places radical experiment alongside meditative community events and politically charged physical performance next to place-based installation. We’re up for the challenge of the change and can’t wait to get in there.” Resident with Performance Space at The Carriage Works will be physical and outdoor theatre companies Stalker and Erth. The first outside hirer will be the Sydney Festival opening the centre in January 2007 with the Australian Dance Theatre, Akram Khan & Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Israel’s Bathsheva Dance Company, a fitting prelude to this long-awaited adventure.
RealTime issue #76 Dec-Jan 2006 pg. 1
