The City of Armadale proudly financed the full rebuild of the iconic Roleystone Theatre, nestled amongst the hills of Roleystone, in Perth, Western Australia.
The Roleystone Theatre holds a rich history, dating back to 1922 when the local community constructed a weather board hall. In 1975, it was developed and exclusively became a theatre. By 2018 the theatre was in dire need of a rebuild.
The building was totally dismantled, with key elements stored to be reinstated as part of the rebuild process.
The new building is 616m2, with a stage area of 90.8m2, and has 111 auditorium seats. During the process, asbestos was discovered, adding to the many challenges faced by the construction team, most notably including the Covid 19 pandemic. Working through those challenges, the team persevered.
The theatre rebuild was solely funded by the City of Armadale, and is now a state-of-the-art theatre, fully accessible, with a sunken orchestra pit, auto retractable tiered seating and flexible auditorium space.
The original theatre floorboards have been repurposed in the foyer, still evidencing paint markings and wear and tear from the original stage floor dating back to 1922.
Of the same vintage, the original external timber weatherboards were recycled and used in a feature wall cladding element in the front entry foyer.
The original timber wall panelling with new timber panelling were integrated to clad the lower half of the auditorium wall. All of these original features are easily identifiable to visitors, along with the original ‘Roleystone Theatre’ sign which greets patrons at the entrance.
The theatre was officially on Friday 19 April, with a Hollywood themed gala, MC’ed by Minister for the Arts, Hon David Templemen MLA.
