Special Fundraising Shows Bring in More Than $500,000 for Christchurch's Earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal

More than $500,000 has been raised for the restoration of Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal through three special theatre fundraisers in the past two months enabled repair work to finally begin on the 104-year-old heritage theatre.

The Hobbit star Sir Ian McKellen performed 15 shows in 11 centres throughout New Zealand in May and June, raising $354,000 from ticket sales, programme sales and donations in exchange for photographs and autographs. Earlier in May, British actor Miriam Margolyes performed a fundraiser in Christchurch raising $10,000, while last week’s Christchurch performance by the Flight of the Conchords added an estimated $125,000 to the restoration pot.

Isaac Theatre Royal general manager Neil Cox adds that a personal donation from actor and writer Richard O’Brien brought the total raised to well over $500,000.  He said he was astounded by the generosity and the funds raised meant that work on the historic theatre began on Monday with the first stage or restoration of the theatre’s iconic dome.

“What Sir Ian, Miriam, Richard and the Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have done has been overwhelming. The last two months touring with Ian McKellen on Stage and seeing the outpouring of support from people around New Zealand has just been incredible.”

Ian McKellen says that he’s thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to create a special show and perform it around the country, opening in “Stratford on Patea” and taking it to audiences in small and large theatres from Auckland to Wanaka, Palmerston North, Tauranga and even Carterton.

Highlights of the tour included the opening performance in Stratford’s King’s Theatre with Mastermind winner and Shakespeare expert Ida Gaskin in the audience, being challenged by a seven-year-old wielding Gandalf’s sword in Palmerston North; catching up with Lady June Hillary at the show in Auckland; discovering a long lost cousin in Hawke’s Bay and having a special ring made by the makers of the ‘One Ring’ in Nelson.

The tour finished last weekend with the penultimate sold out show at Wellington’s Opera House with cast members from The Hobbit including Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Billy Connolly, James Nesbitt and Aidan Turner in the audience and later joining Sir Ian on stage for the encore and helping gather more than $10,000 in public donations from the collection buckets alone.

All the venues on the tour sold quickly meaning that many people missed the opportunity to see a show that will never be staged anywhere else in the world. A Trade Me page will be launched this week to offer the final few hundred show programmes signed by Ian McKellen so that those who missed out can still own something unique to New Zealand and still donate to the fundraising cause.

In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, Sir Ian commented: “It is a show absolutely for New Zealand. It is absolutely for Christchurch and for the people who wanted to come along. I like that. I think people have sensed that this is really for us. For me, it’s been a very, very merry thing to do.”

Mr Cox said Sir Ian’s contribution will never be forgotten in Christchurch and in special recognition of his overwhelming generosity, one of the Royal boxes at the restored Isaac Theatre Royal, known as “The Bard’s Box” for its bust of William Shakespeare, will become the Ian McKellen Royal Suite.

“It’s been a very special two months. The theatre is one of the few historic buildings in Christchurch to survive the earthquakes and it is wonderful to know it can be rebuilt and serve as a beacon for Canterbury people. To Ian, Richard, Jemaine, Bret and Miriam, our heartfelt thanks and appreciation.”

Work to rebuild the Isaac Theatre Royal began at 6am on Monday 2 July when contractors Naylor Love will lower the historic ceiling dome into the stripped-out auditorium to signal the start of a repair and enhancement project that will span 18 months and cost in excess of $28million, funded largely by insurance with fundraising continuing to raise the remainder of the $6million shortfall.

The original and spectacular ceiling dome is famous for its Italianate painting of scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and was painted by G.C. Post of the Carrara Ceiling Company of Wellington.

It has been a unique highlight of the Theatre Royal's interior since it opened in February 1908. The theatre, with its elaborate fibrous plaster decoration of walls and painted dome, was considered at the time one of the best of its type in the southern hemisphere.

Mr Cox said the full repair programme will see the theatre open in a ‘transitional’ format in July 2013 for three months before closing again completely between October 2013 and April 2014 “when ‘the Grand Old Lady’ will finally reopen again in her full restored and upgraded glory”.

Bacground:  Protecting the painting ceiling dome at the Isaac Theatre Royal

As restoration work continues at the Isaac Theatre Royal in central Christchurch, the famous painted ceiling dome is being taken down for preservation.

A one-off design for lifting apparatus to carefully lower the dome has been created by a team from Naylor Love, the principal contractor and building partner for the Isaac Theatre Royal, the project manager RCP, structural engineers Holmes Consulting and Smith Crane and Construction.

“It’s been a unique challenge to design a bespoke cradle to safely lift the painted dome from its position in the ceiling of the Isaac Theatre Royal to the floor,” Naylor Love project manager Ed Leeson says.

“Once the dome is lowered on Monday, heritage consultants will assess the painting’s state of repair.

“We will then use the same innovative cradle to move the dome to a secure position so restoration work can be undertaken while remediation of the theatre auditorium continues,” Leeson says.

“Innovative and careful construction methods are essential when working with heritage buildings and Naylor Love’s experience in this specialty area has stood us in good stead as we developed this one-off tool to safely lower the dome,” he says.

Naylor Love has been involved in the Isaac Theatre Royal project from the beginning of earthquake remediation work. Previously, it was the principal contractor in 2004-05 when the theatre underwent major reconstruction.

The company’s heritage expertise has led to involvement in several other important heritage projects in Christchurch in the aftermath of the earthquakes. These include Christ’s College, The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, New Regent Street and the Harvey Norman centre.

The Italianate dome in the Isaac Theatre Royal depicts scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and was created by G.C. Post of the Carrara Ceiling Company of Wellington for the 1908 opening.

The Isaac Theatre Royal Trust intends rebuilding the theatre as it was. Intricate plans of the building’s interior and exterior design have been created. Naylor Love’s 3D imaging technology was used to develop a computer-generated model of the theatre so, if necessary, a replica can be rebuilt in its entirety.

About Naylor Love Construction:
Naylor Love Construction is one of the largest and oldest construction companies in New Zealand and has served the property industry for more than 100 years.

Over 300 employees form the Naylor Love team in five regions across the country. The nationwide team encompasses construction workers, project managers, engineers, architects, and quantity surveyors.

An aspect of Naylor Love’s business which distinguishes it from other construction companies is its in-house utilisation of 3D imaging technology. The technological approach provides design flexibility and manoeuvrability as an everyday part of Naylor Love’s service delivery so clients can easily modify their building plans.

For more information on the company, see www.naylorlove.co.nz