The Drill Hall Theatre Company is a community theatre company based on Bundjalung Country in Mullumbimby, NSW. From this tiny theatre space we bring great Australian stories to life.
Together with Artistic Director, Liz Chance, each year we present an exciting program of unique Australian stories that will inspire and challenge you, with characters who dare our company of actors and creatives to make playful leaps and take even greater creative risks.
Acknowledgment
We acknowledge the Arakwal people of the Bundjalung nation, the first story tellers and traditional custodians of the land on which The Drill Hall Theatre is built. We also pay our respect to the Elders past, present and emerging, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
HISTORY OF THE DRILL HALL THEATRE COMPANY
The Mullumbimby Drill Hall Theatre was built in 1916 and served as a military training centre for the area during the first half of the 20th century. From the 1950s the hall was unused for many years until the first wave of immigrants from the 1973 Aquarius Festival fell in love with the area and breathed new life into Mullumbimby’s boarded up shop fronts. Mullumbimby Magic quickly established a place for itself in the Australian vocabulary, and surfers started arriving in growing numbers.
With people came publicity, prosperity, more people and the need for community amenities. In 1977 a group called Mullumbimby District Cultural Centre (MDCC) obtained Council approval to occupy the Drill Hall Theatre and they formed a working relationship with Pacific Players (an amateur dramatic group with a history going back to the 1950s). Early shows were performed at the Drill Hall Theatre until it was deemed the hall did not meet public safety requirements. While rehearsals were still conducted at the Drill Hall, performances took place in the Mullumbimby Civic Hall.
In 1988 after a lot of elbow grease, a public hall license was obtained, and performances once again took place in the Drill Hall Theatre (with the audience sharing space with a large pottery kiln! ) The kiln was later moved to a purpose-built studio adjoining the hall, and the Pacific Players became the Drill Hall Theatre Company.
The hall is now the home of the Drill Hall Theatre Company, but is also used by the wider community for everything from exercise classes to life drawing, dance, drama and cinema.
