Dandenong’s new status cymbal

MUD and rubble once filled the Lonsdale Street site where Dandenong’s circa-1940 Town Hall once stood.
Only the heritage-listed section, built in 1890, stood as a reminder to what once was the pulse of Melbourne’s ‘second city’.
In August 2004, the City of Greater Dandenong’s cultural facilities director, Paul Streefkerk, stepped in to oversee the transformation of the mud, rubble and old building into a new town hall and ultra-modern theatre.
The challenge that lay before Mr Streefkerk and his team was to establish a building that encompassed a high-tech, world-class theatre while retaining the heritage aspects of the remaining building.
It was to be revived and revitalised to the point where it would once again be the pumping, pulsating heart of Dandenong.
Today, 18 months after the Drum and Town Hall project kicked-off, Mr Streefkerk and his crew are frantically taking bookings and memberships with the opening night just two weeks away.
The Drum Theatre and Town Hall complex is aiming to make performing arts a centrepiece of Dandenong’s lifestyle, and to make Dandenong a notable place throughout the south-eastern suburbs.
On a local level, the Dandenong Theatre Company will return to the city, via the Drum, after a 10-year absence spent in Monash, and will perform Les Miserables, in April.
When the Star last toured the Drum two months ago, it was only just beginning to take shape on the inside.
But now the facility’s character is beginning to show, with many rooms featuring a mixture of heritage and contemporary styling.
In the auditorium, Mr Streefkerk said removable seating along the wings and at the front of the stage would allow greater access for people in wheelchairs, while a flat stage and nearby loading dock provided easy access for loading and unloading props.
Venue and marketing coordinator Jade Webber said labourers would have a hectic schedule ahead of them, with some walls still to be painted and floors yet to be finished.
Ms Webber said crews would be working up to seven days a week for the next two weeks to ensure the Drum was in a finished state by 11 February.
Mr Streefkerk said extra coats of paint may be missing from some rooms, but “no hardhats” would be required for guests on the opening night.
And Drum staff have well and truly committed to the opening date by sending invitations to about 530 people – the theatre’s capacity – including the Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks.
The opening night will be highlighted by the likes of Australian entertainers Julie Anthony and James Morrison.
Mr Streefkerk excitedly told the Star that acts such as the Bell Shakespeare group and Australian Opera would be performing in the future, bringing with them international hits such as the opera Carmen and Shakespeare comedy The Merchant of Venice.
Aside from the theatre, the Town Hall has been brought to life with a plethora of function rooms that will cater for conferences, meetings and other gatherings.
The idea, Mr Streefkerk said, is to keep the Town Hall as the city’s central icon, something it can be proud of.
It will still function as a civic centre for important occasions, such as council elections, but Mr Streefkerk emphasised it would not function as a council customer service branch.