Isaac Theatre Royal recognised at Canterbury Heritage Awards

The Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch has been awarded a prestigious prize at the 2016 Canterbury Heritage Awards.

The restored theatre was presented with the 2016 Public Realm – Saved and Restored Award in front of a sold-out crowd of heritage enthusiasts at the recent ceremony in the newly restored Great Hall at Christchurch’s Arts Centre.

The awards recognise excellence in heritage retention and conservation, heritage tourism and heritage education within the public and private sector and promote the values of best practice heritage retention and conservation to the wider community.

The judges explained that the restoration of the Isaac Theatre Royal was “testament to the combined skills and dedication of architects and engineers, conservators and craftspeople.” Voted as joint winner in the category, the Isaac Theatre Royal reopened in November 2014 after a three-year rebuild and restoration programme following the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.

The ‘new’ theatre has been breaking audience records in its first year of operation staging musicals Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia, three magnificent Royal New Zealand Ballet sold out seasons and the first sold out opera in Christchurch in 28 years with NZ Opera’s Madam Butterfly last July.

The Theatre also brought cinema back to the venue for the first time in 35 years in partnership with the NZ International Film Festival.

Occupancy days since reopening have increased on pre-quake years by as much as 40% and 2017 and 2018 seasons are set to increase those numbers once again with the theatre’s Priava cloud-based event management system filling up and taking bookings as far out as 2021.

22nd February 2016 - FIVE YEARS ON CHRISTCHURCH MARKS EARTHQUAKE ANNIVERSARY

12th June 2015 - GO AHEAD FOR $127.5 MILLION RESTORATION OF CHRISTCHURCH TOWN HALL

6th June 2015 - ISAAC THEATRE ROYAL TO HOST 2015 EVANZ CONFERENCE

7th December 2014 - CHRISTCHURCH’S ‘GRAND OLD LADY’ IS BACK

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