Beloved theatre reopens its doors for Sydney Fringe

2 months ago 26

Darlinghurst’s much-loved Eternity Playhouse is set to spring back to life more than a year after closing its doors.

The historic Palmer Street venue will reopen in September as the Off Broadway Hub for this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival. The Playhouse stage has been dark since resident company Darlinghurst Theatre went into liquidation in June last year.

“It’s just so nice that those doors will be open again,” says Patrick Kennedy, confirmed last night as the festival’s new CEO after being appointed on an interim basis about a month ago. “It was a real loss to the community having those doors shuttered. We’re terrifically overwhelmed to be the first people back.”

Fringe Festival CEO Patrick Kennedy outside the Eternity Playhouse with some of the festival performers.

Kennedy, who took on the top job following the resignation of long-time CEO Kerri Glasscock, said the festival had worked tirelessly with the City of Sydney to be able to seal the Playhouse deal, revealing the contract was finally inked last Friday.

A City of Sydney spokesperson said the council would operate the theatre for the next three years, the Fringe being the first event to use the venue.

“The City of Sydney will introduce a range of locally produced performing arts in 2026, and we look forward to an exciting year ahead with a full line-up of performances taking over the theatre,” the spokesperson said.

“Long term, we intend to lease the theatre to a resident company or operator to ensure the theatre remains operational.”

This year’s Fringe festival, which starts on September 1, will feature more than 460 events across 10 festival hubs and four separate precincts – inner west, central, eastern and Greater Sydney.

“That allows us to go to people where they live,” says Kennedy. “We have to serve audiences where they are with the products that they want.”

Nearly 3000 artists will take part in this year’s festival.

Unlike its older cousin, the Sydney Festival, which has a curated program, Sydney Fringe is mostly open access, meaning any artist can apply to put on a show.

“I’d say 75 per cent of our product is open access,” says Kennedy. “We are here to facilitate a conversation between the artist and a venue. We do that work.”

Headline acts this year include When Night Comes, an immersive theatre show from Broad Encounters at the Union Bond Store in The Rocks, and UK storytelling duo Wright & Grainger, who will present a trio of acclaimed shows.

Eternity Playhouse will feature a range of shows from cabaret to dance, including Triptych, from Australian choreographer Lewis Major, returning from a triumphant world tour, and The Ghana Road Show, a vibrant fusion of circus, music and dance.

Fringe attendance rose from 75,000 in 2023 to 100,000 last year, but Kennedy says success should be judged on more than raw numbers.

“For us, growth isn’t about being the biggest or flashiest,” he says. “It’s about serving our audiences with meaningful content and getting them out to explore more of Sydney. Every ticket is an invitation: take a risk, discover new voices, be surprised. And occasionally there is chaos. That’s the excitement.

“Our average ticket price this year is around $25 so it’s a risk we hope people will think is worth taking.”