The Civic Theatre first opened its doors on June 29, 1963, and has since hosted hundreds if not thousands of productions, playing an absolutely vital role in Wagga’s arts scene. 

Carissa Campbell, the theatre’s manager, said it took a lot of hard work on the part of a very determined group of performers to make their dream of a purpose-built Wagga theatre a reality.

“Local drama societies were pressuring the council to build a venue, and the School of Arts actually sold a property they owned on Fitzmaurice Street and donated the money to the building,” Ms Campbell said.

“There were a few conditions – the theatre had to have proper seating and lighting, and the School of Arts would always need to have a space there, and they’re still downstairs in the Basement Theatre today.” 

Ms Campbell said years and years of top-quality productions followed the 1963 grand opening.

“It must have been extraordinary in the 60s when people like Slim Dusty used to come here all the time – in fact, he even recorded an album at the Civic Theatre,” she said.

“But we’d also get the Australian Ballet in the 60s and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, so we were able to build up all these really long relationships with these companies.” 

Someone who was involved in the Civic Theatre from day dot was Fay Walters of the Wagga School of Arts, which is now called SoACT. 

Ms Walters said she would always be proud of the school’s role in bringing the theatre to life.

“Back then, the council approached the School of Arts about combining their assets for a guaranteed performance space and a place to live for their rest of their lives,” Ms Walters said.

“I think the whole theatre cost about £130,000 to £140,000 to build, and we were able to contribute £57,900 after selling our assets.” 

From the start, Ms Walters and the School of Arts were bound to put on at least three performances a year, and the theatre quickly became like a second home for her family.

“I remember the Civic Theatre opened and my husband was in the opening production of Tea House of the August Moon, and I couldn’t be in it because I was expecting our first child,” she said.

“He spent a lot of his cradle days in the back row of the Civic Theatre in a baby basket while we took it in turns to put on productions upstairs.” 

After 55 years, the theatre is now one of the busiest in regional NSW and it shows no sign of slowing down at all.

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