Plot twist: the renovated Auckland theatre is becoming TWO separate venues.<\/p>\n
Back in December, Steve Bielby had a problem. He was looking over plans to renovate the St James Theatre, his long-mothballed Auckland city music venue finally receiving a controversial $31.5 million makeover. The backstage area needed a new fire exit, and the only way to create one was to remove much of the dirt underneath the building. That meant three new retaining walls and a concrete structure. \u201cImagine how expensive it is to build a tunnel,\u201d Bielby said.<\/p>\n
Almost as a joke, Bielby\u2019s geotechnical engineer suggested it would be easier to excavate the entire area. The removal of 2,000 cubic metres of soil would create a cavernous new space with almost the same footprint as the St James\u2019 main floor. Bielby chewed it over, made a mind picture, then had a eureka moment: the new space would make a perfect basement music venue. \u201cLet\u2019s just make it its own thing,\u201d he thought.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true and it\u2019s happening: the St James renovation now includes an entirely separate second venue. That means the main floor that everyone remembers, with its stone statues, hand-painted ceilings, seated levels up into \u201cthe gods\u201d and room for 2,400 people. It also means a new basement venue with its own entrance, bar and toilets, with room for 1,200 people. (Sadly, it\u2019s not being called Lil\u2019 Jim \u2013 Bielby\u2019s nicknamed it The Odeon after a demolished part of the old complex.)<\/p>\n
Bielby sat on this news for the past four months while mapping out all-new plans for the historic Queen Street theatre. During a recent private tour, he was finally able to reveal his secret. He was buzzing, barely bothering to say hi before information began spilling out of him. \u201cNew scaffolding has gone up \u2026 we\u2019re 40% of the way through this wall.\u201d He led the way into the space where a bar will be built. \u201cWhen you do the numbers, it\u2019s more cost-effective and easier \u2026 it\u2019s a no-brainer.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steve Bielby and plans for St James Theatre (Photo: Chris Schulz)<\/p>\n
Right now, it doesn\u2019t look like much. Mud is caked up the walls. A properly ancient brick wall is full of holes. The musty smell of a dank, decrepit bathroom wafts through the space. Soon, earthmovers will arrive to begin excavating all that dirt to create a dancefloor. Bielby acted like he was on one, barely able to stand still. He can only see potential. \u201cYou can have two shows on [at the same time],\u201d he said. \u201cElectronic acts down here \u2026 upstairs it\u2019s a band space.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s great news for the country\u2019s ever-decreasing number of live music venues. In Auckland, the Logan Campbell Centre, The Kings Arms and Golden Dawn are distant memories and Galatos was recently listed for sale, its future uncertain. In the past 12 months, Wellington has lost Underworld Tavern, Christchurch\u2019s Flux has closed and Hamilton\u2019s Nivara Lounge has shut up shop. Many venues that remain open are hampered by noise complaints.<\/p>\n
Yet we are in the middle of an unprecedented live music boom. The next few months are usually the quietest of the year, but in 2026 they\u2019re rammed with tours, big and small. So, the opening of one new venue would be welcome \u2013 two is an absolute godsend. Before that happens, so much work needs to be done. Bielby is working towards a 2028 deadline, which would mark the St James\u2019 100th anniversary. Soon, public consultation will begin to ask how it should operate, and what kind of shows it should host.<\/p>\n
A VIP box and the upper levels of St James Theatre in 2021. (Photo: Sonya Nagels)<\/p>\n
This is another twist in a rollercoaster five years. In 2021, as red tape enveloped the St James, Bielby seemed ready to give up<\/a>. In 2022, he wondered<\/a> if it was time to \u201clet it go\u201d. That same year, thieves broke in and spent days in the building, stealing copper fittings and priceless statues. Then, in 2024, after the government committed to $15 million in funding, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown threw a spanner in the works, suggesting Auckland Council might pull its $15 million commitment. Bielby was forlorn. \u201cIt sits as it is, or we do something with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Visit today and you\u2019ll encounter a very different Bielby. He seems properly chuffed. \u201cWe\u2019ve got progress!\u201d he yelled across the site at one point. He was right: men with clipboards signed off on scaffolding, while others surveyed cladding work. Crucial foundation work is under way, and Bielby expects the basement excavation to begin soon. Damaged parts of the hand-painted ceiling are being repaired, and the stolen statues have been replaced: one sits proudly on its plinth, glowing lights making her flame flicker. \u201cWe fired that up last week,\u201d said Bielby.<\/p>\n There is light at the end of the tunnel \u2013 and another stroke of good fortune. Recently, Bielby received a message from someone who claimed to have found a crucial piece of the St James\u2019 past: a huge light fixture that used to illuminate the building\u2019s foyer. He\u2019d purchased it for $50 at a market in P\u016bhoi, then gifted it to Bielby free of charge. To confirm its origins, Bielby found a photo of it in place from the 1920s. \u201cIt sits over the grand staircase,\u201d he said. Right now, it\u2019s sitting on his desk, and, like the rest of his building, is waiting to be restored.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plot twist: the renovated Auckland theatre is becoming TWO separate venues. Back in December, Steve Bielby had a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,197386,43,2935,197387,197388,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-379065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-music-venues","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-society","12":"tag-st-james","13":"tag-st-james-theatre","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The lost lamp from St James Theatre\u2019s foyer, now back in the building (Photo: Chris Schulz)<\/p>\n