Timaru Theatre Royal back-of-house comes down as part of $47m redevelopment

Friday, 8 August 2025

Demolition on the rear section of The Theatre Royal got under way on Thursday

It’s curtains for the back of Timaru’s Theatre Royal as demolition work for a $47.2 million redevelopment gets under way.

On Thursday, five-and-a-half years after the theatre was closed for safety reasons, contractors started demolition of its back of house, which contained the changing rooms, knocking through bricks, roofing iron, wood and glass.

The work continued throughout the day with the occasional passer-by stopping to check out the action on the long-awaited project.

The redevelopment sparked continuous public debate as the council grappled with how best to proceed with it, and rising construction costs, since the theatre was closed in 2019.

At the time of announcing the closure, the Timaru District Council said it had been closed in advance of a multimillion-dollar upgrade as parts of the venue were not up to standard.

In July 2024, the council voted to dump a $57.1m plan to redevelop it and create a new heritage facility.

A design for the new project came about after a public meeting was held to discuss the future of the building.

The demolition of the back-of-house of Timaru’s Theatre Royal began on Thursday morning and continued throughout the day.

As part of the project, the Theatre Royal would be redeveloped and a new museum built behind it, off Barnard St. A new laneway would also be created between the theatre and the neighbouring former Excelsior Hotel, at 132 Stafford St.

The back of the hotel and the back of the adjacent Royal Gardens Chinese restaurant building would also be demolished, with the facades to be retained as part of the development.

Managed asbestos removal was also being undertaken at the back of the Excelsior.

A map showing the location of demolition works in red lines at the back of the Theatre Royal, Criterion Hotel and Royal Garden Chinese restaurant in Timaru.

Work began on the site late last month and was expected to be completed by the first week of September.

A preliminary design contract had been signed with Newlove Browning Architects (NB) and DLA Architects for the design of a theatre and museum, and they were working on the next steps, developing designs, a council spokesperson confirmed.

Those interested in the construction contract had to register by the end of July.

The top storey of the back-of-house comes down on the Theatre Royal building in Timaru on Thursday afternoon.

The council, which had chosen to run a multi-step procurement process, would then evaluate and create a shortlist of respondents which were to be notified by Friday.

The back-of-theatre on Wednesday morning.

Those shortlisted would then be asked to submit a full proposal, via a tendering process, by November 3.

From there, the council planned to award the contract by December 8, leaving just 12 months for the project to be completed.

The council had to complete the projects, as per its agreement with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to remain eligible for a $11.6m Government contribution, by December 2026.