Wollongong has a new theatre space, The Forge, a grungy converted warehouse in the heart of Gwynneville and it's been given a hand by the biggest funeral home on the South Coast.
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Adam O'Brien of The Dire Theatre Company joined forces with Kelly Nicholson of Life Is Productions to open The Forge in Gwynneville, both spending many hours "sandblasting oil and filth" to give the space new life.
O'Brien said they wanted to create a performance space "available and affordable for all forms of artists", not just the thespian kind.
After renovating the Gipps Road space, the creatives were still at a loss for furniture - but that's where a multi-million dollar makeover of the Kembla Grange funeral home became their saviour.
O'Brien said he found a heap of old church pews on Facebook Marketplace which turned out to be from Hanson and Cole, with the operator deciding to gift them to the fledgling company along with a fridge, television, among other things.
"We are very, very grateful," O'Brien said.
Considering The Forge is run like a social enterprise, the gift has helped immensely as everything that has been done to get it off the ground, O'Brien - a warehouse logistics manager - has funded himself.
"We are a truly independent space," he said. "We're not motivated by making money off it."
What they are motivated by, he said, was letting artists share their art - whether by exhibitions or slam poetry or performances of Shakespeare - which is not held back by the cost.
"As long as we can cover the cost of rent that's great, if we make money then can buy paint and paint the walls," O'Brien said.
The Hot 'n' Fresh Burlesque troupe are the next performers to utilise the space, with their first official show at The Forge on Saturday April 2.
It will feature performances by amateur burlesque artists learning to treat, entertain, and tease audiences with their own personal brand of humour, storytelling and self-expression.
Fore tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/hot-n-freshburlesque-tickets-290110547457
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