South Bank Is Getting a Brand New Performing Arts Theatre

More than three decades after opening its doors, Brisbane's Queensland Performing Arts Centre is set to undergo a massive change with the addition of a huge new performing arts theatre.

Announced in the lead up to the Queensland budget, the new venue will see the site transform from a four-theatre centre to a five-theatre centre — courtesy of a 1500-to-1700-seat theatre constructed on what's currently the Playhouse Green, The Courier-Mail reports. The government will commit $125 million to the $150 million project.

Slated to be up and running by 2022, the new site will enable "QPAC to reach new audiences across Queensland, build on the vibrancy of the Queensland Cultural Centre and grow the value of the performing arts to Queensland's creative, cultural and tourism economies," said QPAC Chair, Professor Peter Coaldrake AO in a statement.

"The digital and technological advances available in new theatre infrastructure also gives promise to QPAC's intentions of growing the reach of its programs to audiences beyond Brisbane including regional Queenslanders", said QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas.

It's a development that helps address one of the city's cultural roadblocks, with the lack of theatres of a particular size across Brisbane often cited as a reason that some big shows bypass Queensland. Back in early 2017, Building Queensland's Infrastructure Pipeline Report recommended that the State Government build a new performing arts centre with a capacity of 1500 to 1700 — specifically to house big-scale productions that QPAC can't currently handle due to its already jam-packed capacity. It might mean that shows like The Book of Mormon come Brissie's way in the future, for example.

Via The Courier Mail.