Fremantle Theatre Company calls for State level investment as council search for buyers for Victoria Hall

A leading Fremantle theatre company is calling for State Government intervention after the council agreed to search for interested buyers for the company’s home. Councillors greenlit a public expression of interest process for 179 High Street on Wednesday night, which has been the Fremantle Theatre Company’s home for about three years. Artistic director Renato Fabretti rejected claims the company had been in constant communication with council about the potential sale. “The ‘consultation with the current lessee’ genuinely amounts to us being told just a couple days ago that the subject was going to be raised,” he said at Wednesday’s council meeting. “I feel there’s a lot of information we would have imparted to this council for this decision.” The production group has thrown a series of lauded live theatre shows since it took over the Fremantle premises — including a sold-out performance that starred Hollywood actor and household name Kate Walsh. Fabretti says Fremantle is a city defined by the arts and he was alarmed by the suggestion the city was considering disposing of the venue on the back of the company’s success. He claimed FTC — which has presented in six cities across three regions — had invested roughly $2 million into State arts and the City of Fremantle in three years of work. “The average additional spend of our audience as evidenced by hundreds of surveys amounts to $50 to $55 per patron,” he said. “At best, that’s 2500 patrons per show and that’s a capital investment of $125,000 per show spent in Fremantle on things other than our tickets.” The history of the High Street building stretches back to 1896 when it was designed as a parish hall for St John’s Church. It has since been used as a dance hall, theatre and was home to Fly By Night club until 2018. A council report said FTC’s licence had now expired and a newly negotiated licence allowed for the sale of the property. The report also said consultation included exploring “suitable alternative options” for the theatre company’s future performances “in the event” that Victoria Hall is sold. Victoria Hall previously went out to EOI in 2019 and was met with no satisfactory offers. Speaking with PerthNow, Fabretti said there was not another performing arts space in Fremantle and that Victoria Hall was destined for community and arts use as its best practice. He said the EOI process would mean a level of insecurity for Fremantle Theatre Company’s business. “I think the big question (this) is just raising this makes it difficult for us to go out to sponsors with any security,” he said. “What does it say for the arts companies that they hope to invite to the city after, (if) we’re gone, and they want someone to reactivate the spaces, say town hall? Who do they expect will do that? And who would risk that while knowing that they’re likely to face the same lack of commitment or uncertainty?.” Cr Jenny Archibald said cultural entities like FTC were important to the city and she would like to see them stay, but still affirmed her support for the EOI. “Where we end up at the end of that process is by no means a negative outcome,” she said. Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the potential sale of the property had resurfaced in recent budget statement discussions. “When you look at the property portfolio review and what we’re trying to achieve there, it’s certainly been one of the properties that has been mentioned,” she said. “I don’t feel like it’s desperately come out of nowhere.” Fabretti called for investment at a State Government level to ensure the longevity of an arts scene within the port city. “Fremantle Theatre Company has proven there’s an audience here,” he said. “We’d like to see a five year plan that’s instituted at a state level, to deal with the fact that decentralising the arts in Western Australia is important, and not everything can happen in Northbridge.” Last year, local creatives said the withdrawal of a creative industries hub from Fremantle’s E-Shed was a “missed opportunity”. Fremantle’s Spare Parts Puppet Theatre was also forced to move to the western suburbs last year, when its home in the port city at Pioneer Park was condemned. Fabretti said the company were dedicated to the port city. “We’ve invested in the arts and we’ve invested in Fremantle,” he said. “We’re committed to Fremantle and we live here.” Any decisions to dispose of the Victoria Hall building would return to council and could be part of further community consultation.