Inside Auckland’s St James Theatre restoration and plans for 2028 reopening
Auckland’s St James Theatre hasn’t hosted live performances in more a decade, but in two years, there could be two stages to tread.
A previously unused basement area of the building is set to be turned into a “black box” style theatre - a performance space capable of holding 1200 people, St James’ owner Steve Bielby says.
The space was identified during groundworks to prepare the theatre’s basement for new bathroom and fire egress facilities.
“It was kind of too good of an opportunity to turn down,” Bielby says.
The main theatre auditorium is expected to hold a capacity of 1480 people seated and 2400 standing.
Bielby hopes to have people through the doors of the theatre as early as 2028, in time for its centenary and says Aucklanders should “start getting excited”.
“This building’s tactile. You’ll come in, you’ll touch it, you’ll experience it. You know, it’s not a building where you come in and just sort of sit there. You experience it, and I think that’s quite a unique and very hard thing to replicate.”
His vision is for the Category 1 heritage-listed site, which has hosted acts like Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis, to become “a catalyst for the revitalisation of mid-town”.
But are we on the home stretch? And are things getting any easier as opening approaches?
“I don’t know if easy is a word I’d use for almost anything on this project,” Bielby says, as he gives the Herald a look inside the building and explains what progress has been made.
“It’s been a journey for me. It’s had lots of ups and downs, because you live and breathe these buildings.”
For a construction site, things are remarkably tidy as glimpses of the buildings’ former glory take shape.
“A couple of years ago, we had a break-in, and they stole these two statues that were here, but they left the bases,” Bielby says, pointing towards two columns.
“On one of the bases, we found this little mark. And that’s how we identified the foundry in France that made the statues. Some researchers found a catalogue from the 1800 World Fair in Paris from the foundry which had our statues in them.”
One excursion to France later, Bielby had two of the original statues back and ready to be reinstalled.
He points towards an original heritage light that once hung in the foyer.
“We run a social media thing called Once Upon a Rebuild,” he says.
“Someone saw that and said they had this in their garden. They bought it from the Pūhoi markets 20 years ago for 50 bucks, and was about to turn it into a garden ornament.”
After looking at the original plans from 1928, it was confirmed it was the original light, and it’s ready to be rewired and reinstalled.
Two other statues, which were originally naked and then plastered over with a toga, are being discussed. Do they return restored to their naked selves or are they kept fully clothed?
Then there’s the question of Queen Elizabeth II’s royal seat, sat in by the late monarch in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’80s during her New Zealand visits.
“I would have liked to get it reupholstered, and I got very firmly told I’m not to do that,” Bielby says. “So, I don’t know what we’ll do with it. I almost think it should be somewhere like the Town Hall, or maybe the British Embassy.”
The theatre closed for good in 2017, after final concerts in 2016. After numerous delays, life has slowly started to return to the restoration project.
Bielby has been involved in the multimillion-dollar restoration venture since 2014, and faced a myriad challenges like asbestos, earthquake concerns, funding woes, fire and water damage, and theft along the way.
So far, the Government and Auckland Council have each committed $15 million to the project.
The Auckland Notable Properties Trust, which Bielby heads, also continues to make significant investments toward the building’s conservation.
According to council stakeholders, all funding budgets are on track, and expectations have so far been met.
From the outside, the theatre looks like a scaffolded shell. Site establishment works are now complete, and the structural upgrade programme has commenced.
“Part of that structural upgrade approach is that we have to seismically strengthen the exterior perimeter walls of the building. We’re removing the outer layer of brick because of the heritage fabrics on the inside and rebuilding the exterior in reinforced concrete. We’re probably about 30% of the way through,” Bielby says.
Once complete, he hopes the elegant gold finishes on the outside will be restored to their former glory, just like everything on the inside.
The asbestos removal, a major concern that prevented workers from being inside, was finished just in time for Christmas last year, a welcome present for the small project team and the contractors who will eventually be brought on to the project.
“We’ve set up an SPV (special purpose vehicle) called Reconstruct, and that is engaging contractors directly to do the different elements. So much of the restoration process is ornate art elements like gold leafing or fibrous plaster, so it’s not just a traditional restoration construction project.”
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.