After almost a century of showcasing student performances, at least 10 square metres of the Cellar Theatre’s ceiling has collapsed.
The theatre, located in the basement floor of the Holme Building, is owned by the University of Sydney Union (USU) and used predominantly by the Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS). SUDS Publicity Officer Perri Roach attributed the damage of the long-standing venue to “water damage”.
Members of SUDS heard noise from inside the theatre around 4:30pm but thankfully, no one was injured. A scheduled show for tonight, however, has fallen victim.
“Tonight’s 7:30pm performance of The Normal Heart has unfortunately been cancelled,” said Roach.
“We’re very sad and are sending lots of love and support to the fantastic hardworking team behind this amazing show.”
The USU’s annual executive election was interrupted by an announcement to evacuate as quickly as possible following the conclusion of the meeting, due to the damage sustained to the theatre directly below.
It was the most dramatic development of the election.
Given the tragic nature of The Normal Heart, a theatrical work revolving around the 80s AIDS crisis in the gay community, one can only speculate whether the Cellar Theatre’s damage was spiritually orchestrated by Margaret Court.
Honi has reached out to Margaret Court for comment.
Edit: Initially this article reported that the roof had partially collapsed, it was in fact the ceiling that had partially collapsed.
