THEATRE PROPOSAL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 275, 3 November 1933, Page 5

THEATRE PROPOSAL

URGENT NAPIER NEED Arrangement With Kembalk DEPUTATION TO MAYOR The Mayor of Napier (Mr. 0. 0. Morse) told a deputation which waited upon him this morning that therS was every possibility of the Napier Borough Council implementing an agreement with Kemball Theatres, Ltd., which Would resut in the construction of a municipal theatre incorporating a,stage suitable tor amateur and professional productions. He added that when the Napier Borough Council meets next Monday night the full text of the preliminary negotiations would be considered, and in all probability ratified. The prime movers in the deputation were the Napier Repertory flayers, led by the president (Mr. W. G. Wood), but they were well supported in point ot numbers by professional men and citizens representative of other societies, who are very interested in the building of a theatre which would give them an outlet for their work. Mr. Wood said the Players found themselves greatly handicapped in their work by the absence of an adequate stage and building, and they urged the council to do its utmost towards providing the citizens of Napier with a suitable theatre and stage accommodation.

Although the reasons for such a building seemed so obvious, he said he would like shortly to enumerate them. Firstly, it would supply the means of providing education, entertainment and amusement. Secondly, it would be a further attraction to tourists and visitors, whose presence in Napier it was in the interests of all citizens to induce. Thirdly, it would go a Ipng way towards making Napier the model city to which all looked forward to its becoming.

In addition, a theatre would undoubtedly bring into the town money which would be spent in the town. It was not to be imagined that a municipal theatre could be erected on the same scale as the one destroyed during the earthquake, but he understood the council had submitted to it a scheme involving the erection of a theatre at a cost of £17,000, property equipped, and an ornament to the Marine Parade, which could be leased to Kemball Theatres, Ltd., for a period of ten years, and at a rental which would ensure the town’s having the theatre free of cost for that period. Mr. Wood said he understood further that the rental which the proposed tenant was willing to pay would be sufficient not only to pay interest on the cost of the building, but also to make a substantial contribution towards the necessary sinking fund. If this were so, he urged the council to take advantage of the opportunity, particularly as be was informed that if the council did not make an early decision, Kemball Theatres would erect a theatre in another part of the town, and without the provision of a stage. Mr. A. E. Renouf concurred wnh Mr. Wood, and said that Napier was poorly equipped for the staging of theatrical productions of any kind. From an education viewpoint alone, he added, a theatre would be of inestimable value, and he believed that one of the main duties of the Borough Council, provided it could see its way, was the erection of a theatre worthy of the town, and equal to any demands made upon it for some years to come. Mr. J. H. Edmundson contributed the remark that the aesthetic needs of the people should not be disregarded, and amateur institutions should be encouraged. since they had the virtue that all money raised by them was spent locally, and for some worthy object.

In reply, the Mayor said he felt delighted that so many people were imbued with civic pride. Of course, finance was the whole crux of the matter, especially when one remembered that the old theatre was costing the borough £3O a week. “This scheme which has been presented appeals to most of the council,” he said, “when possibly it will cost us not more than two or three hundred a year, against, which we might derive a certain amount of revenue from the theatre. “I have no doubt that if we can be satisfied with the stability of the firm undertaking the lease, the council will agree to the proposal going on.” (Applause).