But the dust has been wiped away,and the abandoned space will soon have a new life as the home of a 35-night music and live entertainment festival curated by artists from a range of Sydney subcultures.
Kat Dopper,centre,with creatives Chela,Nema Adel,Kieran Turner and Carolina Gasolina,inside the Harbour City Cinema.Janie Barrett
Sydney event and party producer Kat Dopper is the first person with the keys to open the theatre to the public since it was locked about 15 years ago.
“It was like stepping into a time zone,coming up the stairs,” she said. “One of the back rooms had piles and piles of old cinema reels and posters. That’s really important. We’re trying to use as much of that as possible.”
Armed with one of the state government’s CBD revitalisation grants,Dopper is riffing on the idea of an old playhouse – she’s named the program ‘Pleasures Playhouse’ – to curate a six-week line-up of diverse acts while still nodding to the venue’s Chinatown heritage.
Those who walk up the staircase and into the old theatre might still see old Chinese movies being projected onto a floor-to-ceiling screen,and there will be partnerships with local eateries.
The old Harbour City Cinema,pictured in November 2021.Steven Siewert
But what else you find inside will vary each night,from arthouse movie nights to body-positivity dance parties,comedy and cabaret. The drinks will be curated by Newtown natural wine shop P&V and Rosebery’s Archie Rose Distilling Co.
For Dopper,who founded the Sydney party scene Heaps Gay almost 10 years ago,the focus is on “self-expression and pushing true inclusivity”.
To do so,she’s invited artists from different subcultures in Sydney to take a lead role. Western Sydney African-Australian rap collective BBGB will curate its own night;another will be a Heaps Gay LGBTQ party. Young emerging artists have been invited to curate evenings with their friends,while more established acts like Broods,Alex Lahey and Nai Palm are also locked in.
“There are so many wonderful grassroots communities and subcultures within Sydney,that’s what makes it great. This is about giving a platform to all of these wonderful independent producers and artists we have in the city,who have their own community,” Dopper said.
She wants it to be a “melting pot of diversity” in terms of both the art forms and people coming through the door. Many events will be free and no ticket will exceed $30,to make it as accessible as possible. There’s also an allocation for people who don’t earn a wage.
The grants have enabled Dopper to book and pay at least 200 artists across the 35 days. The nightlife veteran wants people to “support the local restaurants,have some amazing wine,and then just see some cool new art you may not have experienced before from different parts of Sydney,or some queer stuff”.
“Since lockouts and COVID,there have been 180 venues[that have closed];the narrative was always Sydney’s dead,” she said. “Obviously,the weather is making it hard,but we are definitely feeling way more optimistic about the arts in Sydney. The offerings are there – it’s just slowly getting people to buy tickets and get back again.”
The site’s development approval allows it to open until 2am and Dopper thinks the project will be a case study for government and stakeholders to see what is possible in the Haymarket area,which for several years.
“It will help us work together to create something new that could actually really change the landscape of Chinatown,” she said.
The state’s 24-hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues said the initiative was an example of “great business collaboration” that would help draw people back to Dixon Mall and a space that had been dormant for 15 years.
Pleasures Playhouse will be held from September 22 until October 31..
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