The Court Theatre props that tell a story

Friday, 24 May 2024

The Court Theatre is selling its props at a garage sale on Saturday before moving back into the CBD next year. The Press takes an early look at the highlights on offer.

They tell the story of beloved institution’s recent history.

Props that have been brandished, worn, displayed, sat on, hidden in and even ‘eaten’ during many years of productions at the Court Theatre are being sold to raise money for the company’s 2025 move back to the CBD.

The garage sale - happening on Saturday at the theatre’s temporary Addington Home, The Shed - will give theatre fans a chance to buy a piece of Christchurch theatrical history.

Items including period costumes, furniture, fake food, stuffed animals, replica weapons and a giant rocking horse will be available to purchase, costing anything between $2 and several hundred.

Set designer and properties manager Julian Southgate, who has worked with the company since the 90s, said the sale encompassed years of memories for The Court.

Set designer and properties manager Julian Southgate poses in a grandfather clock at the Court Theatre, which was used for a production of Wind in the Willows. The clock has a secret back door.

“There are many things here that have only been used once and have never been used again. And there are even things that have been saved from the old Court [the theatre’s pre-earthquake home at the Arts Centre] and have never been used in The Shed for the last 13 years.”

Among the most poignant lots up for sale is the original stage manager’s desk from the Court’s days at the Arts Centre.

“It was trapped for two years after the earthquake,” Southgate said.

”It hasn’t been used since, it was kept in storage and we just found it the other day again.

Production worker Edward Roche looks on as workshop manager Matthew Duffy poses on a big rocking horse that will be up for sale on Saturday.

“It still has the original scripts from the show Midnight in Moscow that had done one performance [before the earthquake].

“The scripts are inside and the programme’s inside and stopwatches.”

The most striking item on sale is an adult-sized rocking horse, from a 1997 Alice in Wonderland production, called Alice!, adapted by Margaret Mahy.

“It’s been stored at someone’s house, so it’s nice to have it back again, but we can’t take it with us.

A giant pie, used in the Shakespeare play Titus Andronicus, is among the props being sold off by The Court Theatre.

“An adult could sit on it, so it’s what everybody needs at home,” Southgate joked.

A large fake pie, used for a production of Shakespeare’s brutal tale Titus Andronicus is also available to buy.

In addition to raising funds for future productions, the sale is essential due to storage space constraints when the company moves back to the CBD.

However, seeing the new multimillion-dollar Gloucester St building nearing completion is inspiring for The Court’s team.

Crossbows are among the replica weapons that will be available at Saturday’s garage sale. Court Theatre prop makers created them using toy crossbows as a base.

“It’s been talked about and been in planning for so long, but to see it actually happen now is challenging but very exciting,” Southgate said.

In March, the theatre announced the appointment of a new executive director, Gretchen La Roche, who will oversee the move to the CBD next year.

The new theatre will be a three-storey building with a 375-seat playhouse theatre (entitled The Stewart Family Theatre), a 130-seat theatre, an education studio, and multipurpose spaces.

The final Court Theatre production at The Shed will be an improvised Court Jesters show, Apprentice Santa, in the Pub Charity Studio.

Another garage sale will take place at the end of the year, to off-load items such as office furniture, plants and tools that will be in use until The Shed closes.

The theatre has not confirmed the production that will launch its new era on Gloucester St.

The decision will be made by artistic director Alison Walls.

The Court Theatre’s garage sale on Saturday is open from 9am to 3pm.