Act 1, Scene 3: ‘What about a theatre on the wharf?’
Act 2, Scene 1: ‘Schematic Semantics’
Act 2, Scene 2: ‘Reflections’
Act 3: ‘The Final’
Act 3, Scene 1: ‘The Promenade’
Act 3, Scene 2: ‘Backstage’
Act 3, Scene 3: ‘The Theatres’ Appendix
References
Acknowledgement of Country
I acknowledge the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of the land upon which the project is located. I would also like to pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
The Synopsis
The region now known as Balls Head Drive and Balls Head Reserve was built on the traditional lands of the Cammeraygal people. The headland was first utilised as fishing grounds. The overhangs of the rocky terrain provided shelter for tool-making and rock painting. Since colonisation, the area is better known for being the site of the Waverton Coal Loader, which functioned as a coal transfer depot from the 1920s to 1992.
Presently, the site has been transformed into a green roof viewing deck that provides expansive views out onto Berry Island, Manns Point and Yurulbin Point. The site attracts mainly tourists and any locals wishing to access the community gardens and chickens coop.
Through my study of the coal loader and the coal loading process, I became particularly intrigued with one of the key components: the cranes. This juxtaposition between the delicate, slender cranes and the substantial loads they bear was something I wanted to explore.
Promenade or immersive theatre is a performance typology that involves the movement of audiences from place to place during a performance. Performances are usually held in outdoor settings but, can also be held in a series of different theatrically designed rooms. This form of theatre is less formal with the physical barriers between the performer and spectator being blurred as actors can perform in and around the audience.
The design proposes a series of theatres along the unused Coal Loader wharf to facilitate this notion of promenade. Performances are held within the three enclosed theatre spaces. This allows three different theatre productions to occur concurrently. Audiences are able to move in and out of the three performances if they wish. Alternatively, there is also the opportunity for audiences to move from theatre to theatre as a three-act play occurs.
Simultaneously, performances can be held on outdoor stages along the central length of the wharf, in an open-air setting. This allows audiences to be immersed in a performance before they even enter a formal theatre space. The offices, cafe and bathrooms are dispersed along the wharf and positioned in ways that encourage audiences to travel in certain directions along the wharf, further facilitating this notion of promenade.
This proposal aims to reactivate and bring back purpose to the unused wharf by utilising the existing infrastructure and transforming it to accommodate the proposed theatre.
Prologue: The Site
In fair Waverton, where we lay our scene,
Parramatta River
From sprawling bushland to an industrial organ
The State is cutting down Ball's Head. To make a wharf for coal.
- The Sacrifice of Ball's Head (1916), Henry Lawson
The Waverton Coal Loader
Confrontation
-colonial invasion
‘Yerroulbine’, Cammeraygal Country
‘Yerroulbine’, is renamed after Henry Lidgbird Ball, commander of the HMS Supply, one of two royal navy ships to have accompanied the First Fleet 1870
1916
Construction for the Balls Head Coal Loader begins
1934
Lease is taken up by the
which had a mine near Newcastle. They would operate for almost 40 years.
‘About the north-west part of this harbour there is a tribe which is mentioned as being very powerful. This district is called Cammerra, the head of the tribe is named Cammerragal.
- Govenor Phillip
They're taking it, the shipping push,
As all the rest must go — The only spot of cliff and bush That harbour people know.
The State is cutting down Ball's Head.
To make a wharf for coal.
The deep cool tangle shall be cleared
To make the glaring roads And motor lorries jolt and grind And drag their sordid loads.
Wallarah Coal
The Coal Loader would set historic precedents, delivering nearly 2500 tons of coal in under 20 hours.
1970
The Coal Loader became progressively redundant. During the1970s, the coal loader was refitted for coal exporting to Japan.
1992
Operation of the Coal Loader was officially decomissioned.
And strings of grimy trucks shall run In everlasting trains
And on the cliffs where wild trees are Shall stand the soulless cranes, To dump their grimy loads below, Where great brown rocks are grand; And the deep grass and wild flowers grow —
No more shall poorer families Give "Grandma" and "Grandad"
A glimpse of nature's mysteries To make their old hearts glad.
No more our eyes shall be relieved
In the city's garish day —
In 2003, the North Sydney Council begun transforming the site into a sustainability centre and public open space.
The project was completed in 2018.
- The Sacrifice of Ball's Head (1916), Henry Lawson
c. 1840
c. 1915-21
c. 1943
Access to the shore would be from Balls Head Drive and through either the staircases or the existing lift to serve visitor access to the coal loader.
Access is also possible from the Balls Head Reserve trail which involves movement through the second tunnel that runs underneath the coal loader platform.
As the site has been previously developed for contemporary use, accessible infrastructure to access the
Views out onto:
Berry Island
Manns Point
Yurulbin Point
Western Harbour Tunnel
The Coal Loader
Balls Head Dr
Public Drawing
The Drawing depicts the Coal Loader, presenting it in a way that viewers see it for how it exists today as well as how it functioned as an integral part of Sydney’s past mining industry.
The large platform once housed heavy machinery and piles of coal. Four coal-loading tunnels, carved into the natural sandstone of the cliff’s edge run underneath the entire length of the platform. Their original purpose was to aid in the transfer of coal into skips that would then be moved into the wharf for loading. Today, the tunnels serve as an event venue, hold stormwater collection tanks and provde a santuary for the Eastern Large Bent-Wing bats. One tunnel is open to the pubic and is part of the Balls Head Reserve loop walk.
Since the 1990s, efforts have been made to remedy the effects of industrialisation that robbed the site of 95% of its original vegetation. In 1997, the site was opened to the public. Today, this former industrial centre has been allowed to be reclaimed by nature in an effort to return the site to its former state under the care of its traditional owners. The two common trees native to the area are the Sydney Red Gum and the Red Bloodwood. Shrubs and bushes such as Tickbush prosper in the cliff-top soil.
Act I, Scene 1: The Wharf, A Public Place
What I found most interesting about this site in its present form is the 170-metre-long timber wharf that stretches out onto the water, sitting untouched. Its dilapidated state leaves little to one’s imagination. We would never know that the wharf was once the site of constant activity, hosting large cargo ships and the hustle and bustle of maritime workers. Naturally, when imagining a site for a theatre over the water, the wharf immediately stood out. The proposal would begin by first recovering the wharf. The construction of the coal loader itself involved situating it onto the natural terrain; carving it into the sandstone cliffs. This furthers the idea of building upon what is already there.
Act I, Scene 2: The Wharf, a Theatre?
“Do you blame Shakespere for any of it?”
“I blame him for all of it.”
- M.L. Rio, If We Were Villains (2017)
1
2
The Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, designed by TZG involved the transformation of Pier 2/3 - a previously empty wool store - into threate and music performance spaces. Currently, Pier 2/3 is the home of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Theatre for Young People and, Bell Shakespere.
All three companies operate and hold performances within the one roof, hence the sheer scale of the building. Each performance venue is uniquely designed to accomodate the nature of performances. Special considerations in material choices as well as the nature of construction had to be made due to the site’s heritage status and the state of the old timber wharf that the structure sits atop.
I began looking at ways to approach the brief through my study of this fomer wool store turned arts precinct. Here, I began entertaining the notion of multiple theatre spaces.
Looking at the coal loader itself, the structure had multiple components that are distinct in their design to serve the coal loading process such as the sandstone rail tunnels, a series of cranes and the timber wharf. The dynamic movement associated with the coal loading process brought about the idea of theatre spaces that could encourage the movement of both the performer and audience members.
Theatre will never be itself again, […] unless it provides the audience with truthful distillations of dreams
Immersive Theatre;
The earliest forms of ‘Immersive theater’ can be traced back to Antonin Artaud’s “Theater of Cruelty” which was in production from 1931-36. The series of plays, with their use of lighting, sound and unnatural, grotesque movements provided a unique immersive experience, born from Artaud’s desire to provoke intense emotional reactions from audiences.
The purpose of immersive theatre is to include audiences in the production: transforming them from passive bystanders to active participants. This type of performance can span across multiple genres such as: drama, tragedy, farce, comedy, satire and burlesque.
Antonin Artaud, from his book Theatre and Its double (1938)
Artaud as Marat in Abel Gance’s (1927) Napoleon
;Promenade Theatre
The Passion Performed by the National Theatre Company at the Assembly Hall at the Edinburgh Festival (1980)
The term ‘promenade theatre’ was first used by British theatre publicist John Goodwin, best known for his role in championing subsidised theatre in post-war Britain. Goodwin had coined the term to describe ‘The Passion’, which first debuted in 1977. The production is regarded as one of the earliest examples of contemporary ‘immersive theatre’.
Audiences would be standing and gently guided from place to place as performers inhabited different areas in the performance space. They might’ve been asked to tug on blue silk cloth to create the illusion of rippling water. Although immersive theatre has become much more advanced, now using AR and VR technology, ‘The Passion’ utilsed everyday household items. Cheese graters, colanders and pierced dustbins containing flickering candle bulbs were suspended from the ceiling, creating an environment suggestive of a church.
Since the early 2000s, production companies have been exploring non traditional stage setups such as abandoned buildings, warehouses and outdoor spaces.
Act I, Scene 3: What about a theatre on the wharf?
Rehersal
Production
Initially, I toyed how many theatre spaces I wanted, whether to have them enclosed or open-air and how the secondary programs would fit in between the theatres.
I then settled on having 3 enclosed theatre spaces with backstage in between and running along the rear (a service channel). The audience oriented programs could mirror this service channel, running along the front of the theatres.
This option explored a complete seperation between the staff & performer oriented spaces and the audience oriented spaces with the theatres being an intermediatry.
Act I, Scene 3, line something: It started with an image
Explorations of Form
In my initial research, I came across the image to the left that I heavily referenced for my quadrant of the public drawing exercise.
The initial purpose of the coal loader wharf was to serve the large cargo ships that would dock into the shore. I found the imagery of these ships docked on the wharf very compelling in terms of the geometry and form.
For the development of the form, I wanted the architecture of the theatre structure to resemble that of a cargo ship docked on the wharf. I wanted to design a form that would incorporate the angular geometry of these ships along with the pinching and pulling motions of the coal loading cranes.
Act 2, Scene 1: Schematic Semantics
From the schematic presentation, I had developed the beginnings of the theatre form in relation to the wharf. With the schematic development, I had three seperate theatres spaces that were branching off from the wharf and joined with an underground backstage.
Approaching from the wharf
Central Theatre
Right-hand Theatre
Left-hand Theatre
Cranes & their relationship to the roof
Act 2, Scene 2: Reflections
1
Span the theatres out along the wharf, which will give the wharf more purpose for circulation
2
Use outdoor stages and secondary programs such as the office & box office to direct movement throughout the wharf
3
4
The outdoor stages can be irregular shapes - perhaps they can give different experiences - the outdoor theatres can be more formal or informal
The programs could be strategically placed along the wharf to facilitate movement in certain directions.
This will make the design & spatial planning of the offices more intentional.
Act 3, The Final
Berrys Bay
Berrys
Front Elevation of structure and wharf
Front Elevation of structure and wharf
Elevation looking down wharf
1:100 detail drawing of crane connection to external skeleton
In the design, the main structural system that is supporting the theatres is the towering cranes that sit above them. The cranes attach to the truss system that makes up the roof structure.
A steel skeleton wraps around the outer walls and supports the internal theatre spaces which are made up of lightweight timber construction. The theatres themselves sit within this metal lattice envelope. The spaces along the wharf such as the offices, bathrooms and cafe are all lightweight timber. The roofs of the structures are PVC-coated polyester. This fabric roof drapes over the truss system. For the roof form, I wanted to mimic this notion of suspension and pull that is associated with the movement of the cranes.
Act 3, Scene 1, The Promenade
Secondary programs such as the box office, cafe, admin and bathroom have been dispered along the wharf in a way that facilitates this notion of promenade. There is no straight path directly through the centre of the wharf. Audiences are encouraged to travel around in and around the secondary programs. Outdoor stages are located throughout the wharf, hosting performances and providing additional seating.
The Box Office
The box office is located at the very start of the wharf, signalling the beginning of the promenade. Here, audiences can purchase tickets. Tickets are not fixed to specific performances. Seating is also not fixed and audiences can sit where they wish or, can choose to dip in and out of performances.
The Offices
The offices are located behind the box office. Translucent polycarbonate panels surround the structure, creating tunnel like walkways around the perimeter of the office that visitors can pass through along their promenade.
Outdoor Stages
Performances can be held on outdoor stages along the central length of the wharf, in an open-air setting. This allows audiences to be immersed in performance before they even enter a formal theatre space.
These spaces can be altered to accommodate for dining.
The Cafe
The cafe is located at the centre of the wharf, opposite the central theatre and its connected bar.
The cafe is a light weight timber structure that is cantilevered from the wharf.
The large glazed windows behind the counter creates an undisturbed sight line looking out onto the water. It also allows spectators to be able to look into the kitchens. In this way, the kitchen staff become performers.
The
Bar
Located at the entry of the central theatre, the bar provides the oppurtunity for an intimate wining and dining experience
The Retractable Roof System
The Roof Extensions
Retractable roof extensions have been added onto the rooves of Theatres I and II (the end and central theatre).
This system would be operated via the cranes and chords that move the fabric of the rooves up and down curved rails that travel under the main roof and extend outwards.
This extension allows the promenade to be shaded seasonally.
Act 3, Scene 2, Backstage
Accessing Backstage
Backstage sits directly underneath the central theatre and connects the otherwise disjointed theatres. All theatres have access to backstage via the backstage corridor. Backstage holds the green room, changerooms and performer bathrooms. Theatres I and III also have 2 changerooms behind the partition walls.
Theatre III
Theatre I
Tunnel 2, The Coal Loader
And strings of grimy trucks shall run In everlasting trains
- The Sacrifice of Ball’s Head (1916), Henry Lawson
The Backstage Corridor
The backstage corridor runs along the rear of the three theatres. From this bunker-like space, performers have access to every theatre without having to move along the wharf.
This move towards a long connecting corridor is reminiscent of and mirrors the long 180 metre tunnels of the coal loader.
The entire wall of this corridor is glazed, providing views out onto the water. The glazing is North facing, allowing natural light to enter into the backstage area.
This long curtain wall leaves staff and performers exposed to anyone travelling by on a boat or looking on from the shore. Their movements through this corridor are able to be viewed by onlookers, akin to an audiences looking at a performer.
Act 3, Scene 3, The Theatres
“But an actress! How different an actress is! Harry, why didn’t you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress?
Because I have loved so many of them, Dorian.
Oh yes, horrid people with dyed hair and painted faces.
Don’t run down dyed hair and painted faces. There is an extraordinary charm in them, sometimes.”
- Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
Theatre Setups and Immersive Theatre
One of the hallmarks of contemporary immersive theatre is flexibility. Typically, immersive theatre is performed outdoors and lacks a traditional setup and purpose-built structure. In the design of the theatres, I wanted to strip them back so that they are simply stage and seating. Theatres I and III allows for flexible seating arrangements according to the nature of the performances. There is also the possibility of completely forgoing a stage as in immersive theatre, the boundaries between actor and audience are blurred.
Seating is not assigned and audiences can choose to dip in and out of performances and move back and forth between the indoor and outdoor stages if they wish.
Theatre I is a proscenium stage. The bulk of the seating is located central to the theatre with additional mezzanine seating on the left and right wings. The central seating is retractable, providing space for a alteranative stage setup.
Theatre II takes on the form of a traditional ampitheatre. Seating is fixed and the stage is enclosed and intimate.
The three theatres can also be arranged so that one continuous performance can occur across all three theatres with Act 1, 2 and 3 occuring in each respective theatre.
Theatre III is a thrust Stage. Similar to Theatre I, this theatre also has flexible seating and the stage is able to be altered for different arrangements.
Theatre I
Theatre III
Theatre II
Retractable
Seating for Theatre I
Potential Seating Arrangements for Theatre I
Flexible Stage Arrangements for Theatre III
Removable Backdrops
Promenade and immersive theatre is also commonly performed in outdoor settings. This can be referred to as ‘site-specific theatre’. With these indoor theatres, I wanted to provide audiences an opportunity to still be immersed within the site. The backstage glazed curtain wall runs directly behind the theatres and once the backdrop walls are removed, audiences have views looking straight out onto the water and surrounding landscape.
(Refer to renders of Theatre III)
Renders of Theatres
Cash, Justin. 2023. “Immersive Theatre.” September 2023. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://thedramateacher.com/immersive-theatre/#google_vignette
Hoskins, Ian. Aboriginal North Sydney. Sydney: North Sydney Council, 2008. https://aurorashore.com.au/NSHOR/STANTON/DOCUMENTS/JPEG/ABORIGINAL_NORTH_SYDNEY/1100018672.PDF
Hundertmark, Katy. n.d. “Poetry of the senses and the theatre of cruelty: the perception of Antonin Artaud´s theories and their influence on modern theatre.” WordPress. Accessed October 26, 2024. https://newmindseye.wordpress.com/poetry-of-the-sensesand-the-theatre-of-cruelty-the-perception-of-antonin-artauds-theories-and-their-influence-on-modern-theatre/
National Theatre. n.d. “The Role of the Theatre Designer.” Google Arts and Culture. Accessed October 26, 2024. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-role-of-the-theatre-designer-national-theatre/sAVhY6PZyPRoJw?hl=en
North Sydney Council. History of the Coal Loader. Sydney: North Sydney Council, n.d. https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/downloads/file/102/coal-loader-guide-chapter-1-history
Quinn, Monica. 2024. “The Evolution of Immersive Theater: Past, Present, and Future.” Medium. July 2024. October 27, 2024. https://monicapquinn.medium.com/the-evolution-of-immersive-theater-past-present-and-future-4ab556747056
Woltmann, Suzy. 2023. “What Is Immersive Theater?.” Backstage.com. May 2023. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/immersive-theatre-explained-75850/
Image References
Aerial photograph of Balls Head, showing coal loader and Balls Head reserve. 1943. Photograph. RTA Photography. Sourced from: https://media.caapp.com.au/pdf/f6cpw3/eca2810f-ef04-4519-ade1-e625322db797/Appendix%20K.pdf.
American and Australasian Photographic Company. View across Balls Head to Birchgrove. Circa 1870–1875. Photograph. State Library of NSW.
Chart showing Balls Head Coal Loader facility. Circa 1915-21. Map. Great Britain Hydrographic Department. Sourced from: https:// media.caapp.com.au/pdf/f6cpw3/eca2810f-ef04-4519-ade1-e625322db797/Appendix%20K.pdf.
Coal Loader Balls Head Sydney. Photograph. N.d. Sourced from: Sydney Harbour Highline.
Detail from ‘Holtermann Panorama’ showing the Berrys Bay foreshore. Circa 1870-75. Photograph. State Library of New South Wales
Hughes, Nathanial. Birds Eye View looking over the Coal Loader. 2018. Photograph. North Sydney Council.
Lesueur, Charles Alexandre. Indigenous people fishing and cooking around a rock shelter in Balls Head during the Baudin expedition in Sydney. 1802. Colourised Engraving. National Library of Australia
Map of Balls Head and Berrys Bay showing ‘Wolstonecraft’s Wharf’ and road leading north. Circa 1840. Map. NSW Department of Lands. Sourced from: https://media.caapp.com.au/pdf/f6cpw3/eca2810f-ef04-4519-ade1-e625322db797/Appendix%20K.pdf.
Production photograph showing a scene from ‘The Passion’. 1980. Photograph. National Theatre Archive.
Ship docked at the Coal Loader wharf, Waverton. Circa 1940. Photograph. Donnell ca.
The Coal Loader under the Wallarah Coal Company Ship. Circa 1934. Photograph. Sourced from: Sydney Harbour Highline.
Tunnels being constructed for the Balls Head Coal Loader. n.d. Photograph. Stanton Library Historical Services.
