Broad church takes the stage
A talented troupe of actors, singers and musicians has just completed a highly successful season of the Waverley Lugar Brae Players’ Sound of Music. Laura Davis as Maria was a real find and a strong orchestra includes many professional musicians.
An army of behind-the-scene workers ensures quality of costumes, sets, sound, and lighting and there is an impressive ecumenical range among those involved – at least three major roles were performed by Jewish players.
The Waverley Lugar Brae Players were established in 1979 by a team from the tiny Methodist church in Bronte who combined with the Bondi Junction Methodists and Presbyterians from the Grahame Memorial Church in Charing Cross.
Their performances only run for one week a year and delight audiences but they are just part of the story of an unusual place of worship known as the Church in the Market Place which has achieved a unique place in the life of the Eastern Suburbs.
Its origins date from 1843 when Newland Street gained a Methodist church that was to move often, first to Grosvenor Street then to a nearby ornate church that its own parishioners dubbed “the wedding cake” with its spires and ornate brickwork. But like all wedding cakes, it was not to last long.
Passers-by lamented its demolition during the 1970s re-development of East Oxford Street but the congregation inside had breathed a sigh of relief. They feared that if they did not knock it down, it would collapse of its own accord. It had been built of crumbling New Zealand bricks, perhaps from unwanted ship’s ballast.
The first Church in the Market Place was some floors up and accessible only by lifts, a feature that proved unwelcome. A decision was taken to design their own purpose-built structure with offices, a large space for youth activities and even a theatre.
Other changes were occurring while the Bondi Junction Methodists were on the move and Congregationalists and most local Presbyterian churches joined with them. At a crucial time, the consolidated church was fortunate in having a dynamic team with the
Reverend Ronald Coleman one of the driving forces working to provide much-needed services to the community.
Quality care for the aged had been identified early as a priority and the move for Edina in Bronte Road began earlier in the 1960s; Illowra in Birrell Street came much later.
Reverend Coleman was backed by an energetic lay team that included businessmen who saw the potential for suitable aged residential accommodation when a motel in Wallis Street was put up for sale – some additions converted it to the Ronald Coleman Lodge.
One lay couple had come with the Presbyterians: John and Marion Morrison. They were instrumental in forming two youth groups; John became an independent alderman on Waverley Council in the late 1960s and was a Rotarian and a senior police officer.
They are the driving force behind the Waverley Lugar Brae Players. Both have appeared on stage for many years, John excelling in comic parts, Marion in production direction. They attracted aspiring professional actors and highly talented amateurs as their love of the performing arts and organisational skills enabled the Players to flourish.
