KUCOM SEALS THE DEAL ON SALE OF PROPERTY
Media release issued to The Daily Mercury 11 August 2010
Kucom Theatre has announced the sale of their property at 361 Shakespeare Street to neighbouring business, AutoCorner Pty Ltd. Negotiations between the Kucom Committee and John Glanville have resulted in a contract which allows Kucom to continue to operate from the premises until December 2011. During this time Kucom will be seeking a new home base.
Members of the community group will be sorry to part with the current building as it is an ideal space for an intimate theatre and holds many warm memories of memorable productions and personalities who have trod the boards there. The harsh reality was that, despite significant attempts to cater for the comfort and enjoyment of our audiences, the building would continue to deteriorate and the group would not have the funds to maintain it to a suitable level.
When AutoCorner offered to purchase the site and allow Kucom time for relocation plans to be made, the Committee felt that they needed to look towards the future of Kucom and agreed to sell the property.
While Kucom continues to hold productions in Shakespeare Street, the Committee will investigate further options for the future. These may include rehearsing and performing in other venues, obtaining land and building a new base or sharing a facility with another community organization. At this stage, they will seek to explore several alternatives.
The Shakespeare Street building was originally used as a clubhouse for meetings and club night entertainments. At that time productions were presented in other venues such as the Theatre Royal. In the early 1980s it was developed into a 65 seat theatre with the removal and replacement of walls, repainting and blacking out, setting up of seats and sound and lighting. Most of this work was completed by members. One of the first major productions to be staged there was Stop the World, I Want to get Off.
In the intervening years other projects have been gradually undertaken including a concrete slab under the house, security gates for the verandahs, air conditioning, a storage shed at the back of the block, replacement of the seats and the installation of a data projector, The theatre has also been used for workshops, concerts, poetry recitals, art exhibitions, an opera and auditions for drama schools.
