Penelope Andrews
A miracle happened in Ku-ring-gai recently. A miracle that, for now, has saved Marian St Theatre’s future. For 13 long years, the empty Marian St Theatre in Killara has been boarded up. For decades it was the cultural backbone of the Upper North Shore and operated as a professional theatre. Then in 2013 it closed.
Ku-ring-gai Council in 2018 resolved to undertake the renewal of the theatre as an arts centre and to allocate funds to the project. The development application (DA) for the space was approved in August 2021 — but for five years, no progress was made on the new theatre vision. As the years went on, and the deadline for the DA lapsing on August 19, 2026, grew closer, the voices of passionate community advocates became louder.
It culminated in a sea of locals wearing red on August 2, rallying outside Gordon Library (located opposite Ku-ring-gai Council’s chambers), and calling for the theatre’s DA to be saved. If not, the approved DA for turning the long-closed venue into a contemporary arts centre would lapse, and its future would likely be next to nothing.
Then on August 10, Ku-ring-gai Council held an Extraordinary Meeting to discuss the theatre, where the decision was made to preserve the DA for the site. Mayor Christine Kay said: “The passion of the theatre’s supporters is undeniable … our role now is to facilitate the best possible outcome for the theatre and the arts in Ku-ring-gai.”
Minutes from the Extraordinary Meeting show that present-day estimates for the redevelopment feasibly reach the high $30 millions to low $40 millions. The immediate progress commencement works to preserve the DA were estimated to cost $100,000. Council did not pay this. The Save Marian Street Public Fund instead raised the necessary funds. Those funds were received, and council subsequently commenced the physical internal demolition works required for the DA.
The council did note: “This is not yet a commitment to reviving the Marian Street Theatre due to the limited funding options for the substantial costs involved.” In a statement to Sydney Observer, a Ku-ring-gai Council spokesperson said under state planning legislation, the DA is preserved once commencement has occurred. “As works have been undertaken, the DA is preserved and won’t lapse,” it said.
Options for funding and delivering infrastructure will be presented for consideration to council in mid-2027. One of those passionate advocates from the Marian St Theatre ACTION group, Jessica Blaxland Ashby, said they were proud of their efforts and credited the “extraordinary generosity of the community”. “We are galvanised to be successful,” she said.
Jane Salmon, a volunteer, told Sydney Observer she felt “hopeful, heartened, determined”. Fellow volunteer Howard Gwatkin said: “I feel disappointed that council didn’t fully commit to reopening the theatre; nervous that too many councillors will want to procrastinate further; yet hopeful that, with sustained community pressure, we can have it reopen within three years.”
In the weeks since, the ACTION group has continued campaigning and put out a petition which received tens of thousands of signatures. The petition is supported and presented by Davidson MP Matt Cross in the NSW Parliament. It asked the Legislative Assembly to call on the government to work with Ku-ring-gai Council to commit to a clear plan to open the new site within three years as essential cultural infrastructure.
Further funding is needed to continue progress on the site, with the council minutes noting community interest in applying for the Federal Government’s Thriving Suburbs grants program. “By funding up to $15 million, requiring council to commit to at least matched funding, and a delivery timeframe of two years, it gets the theatre reopened in the shortest possible timeframe, avoiding further cost increases and further delays,” Ms Blaxland said.
In the meantime, those who wish to see the Killara arts site prosper have their fingers crossed and hearts hopeful.
