Auckland’s Civic battle

Press, 2 June 1989, Page 7

Auckland’s Civic battle

There would be an international outcry if Vatican City authorities decided to demolish the splendour of Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

Unless action is taken, a ceiling some regard as the most precious in New Zealand faces this fate.

The documentary, “The Mighty Civic,” which screens on Sunday at 9.40 p.m. on One, pays homage to the Civic Theatre in Auckland and sends out a message that this picture palace must be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Rather than a plea pitched solely to Aucklanders, the story could be relevant to every town and city in New Zealand fighting to retain their rapidly disappearing architectural heritage.

The director of “The

Mighty Civic,” Peter Wells, says, “How many times have you gone into town lately to a shop or a bank and found that, instead of the place you’ve known all your life, there’s a crude patch of clay with a few old bricks left behind?” He is determined to make sure the bulldozers stay well clear of the Civic Theatre, the only atmospheric picture palace left in the Southern Hemisphere. To many people, it is not only one of the best examples of an atmospheric theatre in the world, but also a national treasure that must be kept and maintained for all New Zealanders and overseas visitors to experience. The term “atmospheric” refers to the vast, twinkling, night-sky ceil-

ing inside the 60-year-old building, and the unique interior below, which includes elements such as the huge, red-eyed lions that conjure images of an exotic paradise. First thoughts of making “The Mighty Civic” came to Peter Wells, an independent film director, while he was in the edition room adding the finishing touches to the drama on A.1.D.5., "A Death in the Family.” He says the Civic has entranced him from the time he first entered the picture palace as a schoolboy to watch the Walt Disney movie, “Living Desert.” “I just remember that thing that everyone talks about — that you can hardly look at the film because your attention is constantly moving away to this incredible world

that’s all around you.”

Wells set about searching for all the stories he could find about the Civic’s glorious past.

“I tracked down as many people who had interesting stories about the Civic as possible. “They all had this incredible warm feeling towards it. The documentary has some wonderful old characters in it, like a lady who actually danced on the stage at the opening in 1929.” Then there is a group of elderly ladies who reminisce about their days as members of the Civic Ballet, a chorus line that graced the stage for many years. One of them is Freda Stark, who mesmerised strait-laced Auckland audiences by wearing nothing on stage but gold paint and feathers.