Darkness shines a light on an old building

Early January a new theatre venue quietly opened in Newtown with Rodney Rigby’s production of Darkness, a modern Gothic play based loosely on the meeting of friends in Geneva in 1816 which later inspired the novel Frankenstein.

The former 5 Eliza Street site for the Old 505 theatre is now The Library, referencing its previous life as the Newtown School of Arts, a nineteenth century workingman’s institution dedicated to self improvement that grew out of the industrial revolution.

Also known as mechanic’s institutes, by the turn of the century there were some 750 schools in NSW, with around 140 of them in Sydney.

When Old 505 vacated the building in 2021 due to Covid losses it opened the way for a renewal.

Greg Khoury, chairman of the Newtown School of Arts trust, has been involved with the Newtown School of Arts for over 15 years, including the period when Old 505 and Sydney Fringe occupied the building.

He is now overseeing a complete makeover, made possible by donations and $2 million of funding from the Minister of the Arts, Ben Franklin.

The $4 million plans will see the first floor extended over the entire property to include lift access to the Ballroom, a dedicated foyer on the first floor, plus the relocation of the artists’ studios on the ground floor to a new partial second floor with natural light.

“We have started the project but we haven’t spent that funding yet, “Greg Khoury said.

“The concept plans were started three years ago and now they are ready to go to the architect to be fully fleshed out.”

The new design will also include a new black box theatre for 55 people on the ground floor.

“It will double the physical footprint of the building and we have calculated it will at least quadruple the cultural output,” Khoury said.

For now, producer Rodney Rigby has an arrangement with the trust to hire the space for the current season of Darkness.

Rodney Rigby is one of Australia’s most successful producers whose Newtheatricals producing group’s recent successes include Jersey Boys and Come From Away.

Rigby’s Darkness makes full use of the century plus old building from the moment you enter through its heavy Edwardian wooden doorway to emerge into the downstairs bar area that has been transformed into a madcap nineteenth century apothecary, the reasons for which become apparent early in the play.

For Darkness, the upstairs Ballroom theatre has undergone a likewise makeover with the imaginative and striking set enveloping the entire theatre space.

The current layout of the theatre space has seating along two sides of the space, adding to the connection with the production.

The Library is an old building with great bones and is continuing in the tradition for which it was intended.