Group formed to see Timaru’s Majestic Theatre into the future

Thursday, 14 March 2024

An artist's impression of how a redeveloped Majestic Theatre might look.

A move to save Timaru’s Majestic Theatre is gaining traction with a group of cinema, theatre and heritage enthusiasts determined to find a way to reuse the historic building slated for demolition.

Heritage advocate and group spokesperson Nigel Gilkison said the group of volunteers had been exploring ways to save the building and hoped others would help.

“A group of us – including the former operator of the Majestic, Gavin List; local writer and arts critic Dr Andrew Paul Wood; Richie Tompkins; and others – have been throwing around some ideas for how the building might be turned into some form of community arts facility, such as a cinema and film heritage centre,” Gilkison said.

“We have spoken with local people who have large collections of cinematic memorabilia to display as part of a cinema heritage and tourism offering that would complement the new Theatre Royal and Heritage Hub, which is proposed directly opposite the Majestic.

“This would help to invigorate the south end of Stafford St, stimulating further redevelopment, and start to develop a cultural arts and entertainment precinct for this area.”

The idea would help to “bring people and footfall back to this currently under-utilised part of town”, he said.

The Timaru District Council granted its holdings company consent to demolish the Majestic Theatre building in October 2023.

Gilkison said the group was still an informal one and the idea was only in its infancy, but potential uses of the building included live music or comedy, corporate events, and small theatrical productions.

“It’s all very conceptual at this stage, but the idea is to evolve a use for this building which will add to the current local offering of entertainment venues in Timaru, whilst not competing with those that already exist such as the Theatre Royal, the Playhouse and MovieMax.”

Gilkison said the idea was a “massive long shot” and group was realistic about it.

“We don’t own the building, and we don’t yet know the expected redevelopment costs.”

However, the members did not want the “building to be lost without at least exploring some of the possible redevelopment opportunities”.

Nigel Gilkison, pictured in Stafford St, says it would be a shame to see a building with so much social history disappear without any investigation into reuse options. (File photo)

The Majestic Theatre sits in a row of properties acquired by Timaru District Holdings Ltd (TDHL) in September 2018 as part of a $1.7 million buy-up of properties in the area.

In October 2023, the Timaru District Council granted its holdings company consent to demolish the theatre and a row of buildings from 101-107 Stafford St to make way for a temporary green space.

Gilkison said the group was concerned that the costs of demolition, site remediation and a rebuild could be significantly more expensive than restoring and repurposing the theatre.

The buildings set for demolition include those from the former Majestic Theatre, centre, and the buildings to the immediate left of it.

Restoration would mean it could quickly become a destination venue to stimulate tourism, foot traffic and business in Stafford St south at far lower cost, he said.

“If there is sufficient interest, the next stage would be to create a formal community group of interested and enthusiastic local people.

“We are calling on anyone who might be interested to get in touch and join our kaupapa.”

Gilkison said that as the group researched the building, they had discovered its history dated back further than thought.

“It turns out that the rear part of the existing auditorium was actually built in 1911 and was part of the original Lyceum Theatre – Timaru’s first purpose-built cinema, which was built just one year after New Zealand’s first dedicated cinema, The Kings, was built in Wellington in 1910.”

A floor plan showing how the redeveloped Majestic Theatre might be laid out.

He said the Lyceum was operated by Haywards Picture Company and licensed for a maximum of 720 people. The auditorium was situated behind a row of shops fronting Stafford St and was accessed via a long arcade that led to the theatre.

“When the Majestic was built by Haywards in 1929, to replace the Lyceum, the original auditorium was retained and extended to accommodate 1200 seats.

“The shops and arcade at the front were demolished, with the new Majestic Theatre extending right through to the Stafford St frontage – as it remains today.

“This newly discovered information increases the historical significance of this building, making it a strong candidate for heritage listing and protection.”

The back of the Majestic Theatre, which sits on Turnbull St, is part of the original Lyceum Theatre built in 1911, Nigel Gilkison says.

However, there were still unknowns and one of the big ones was the extent of earthquake strengthening required to bring it up to code.

“This is one of the major hurdles to overcome,” he said.

“If we could get a ‘stay of execution’ for the building from the council, it might allow us time to get some funding together to get a seismic assessment done, estimate refurbishment costs, and start to work up a business case for the redevelopment of the cinema.”

It is the third time Gilkison has made such a request. In September 2023, he issued a plea to the council to stop the demolition before it was too late.

Gavin List pictured outside the Majestic Theatre in October 2023.

In October, he addressed the council directly during a public forum – with mayor Nigel Bowen telling him there was “no will” to intervene and prevent the demolition.

Gilkison said the group also faced uncertainty over how long the building would continue to remain standing.

“The other big unknown, of course, is whether it will still be there this time next week, or if TDHL are just going to go ahead and pull it down.

“It would be a shame to see a building with so much social history disappear without any sort of investigation into possible reuse options.”

In January, TDHL confirmed the demolition of the buildings had been delayed because of the presence of asbestos.

Anyone interested can contact Nigel Gilkison via nigel@universalform.co.nz.