Townsville’s Civic Theatre reopens after flood damage repair

Townsville City Council has reopened its Civic Theatre which had been closed for repairs immediately following the unprecedented monsoon earlier this year.

The theatre was severely damaged during the monsoon with the orchestra pit, basement and back of house suffering significant water incursions.

Now largely repaired, Townsville Infrastructure Services Chair Mark Molachino said Council would be undertaking further maintenance on the Civic Theatre, advising “Council will be painting the building to improve its resilience in the face of other natural disasters

“Some of the work already done on the building includes removing mould, replacing majority of the wall and ceiling linings and replacing the orchestra pit.”

Opened on 5th October for The Imperial Russian Ballet Company’s production of Swan Lake, Townsville Local Recovery and Resilience Group Chair and Deputy Mayor Les Walker said the re-opening of the Civic Theatre is another milestone for the city’s recovery, noting “there was some extensive damage at the Civic Theatre and it’s great that we’re able to reopen the doors for the community - it’s important that we get these venues open and return the city to some sort of normalcy.

“(The theatre) is one of Townsville’s cultural hubs and we’re sure the community will enjoy being able to enjoy quality productions in the city’s premier theatre again.”

Since hosting the Imperial Russian Ballet Company, the venue has also staged a production of Cats by the North Queensland and Music Theatre.

Image shows the curtain ready to rise at the Townsville Civic Theatre in advance of The Imperial Russian Ballet Company’s production of Swan Lake.