Drum Theatre and Town Hall venue and marketing coordinator Jade Webber peeks outside the theatre ahead of this weekend’s gala opening of the multimilliondollar theatre. Picture: Stewart Chambers.LABOURERS have been working tirelessly to complete construction on the Drum Theatre and Town Hall before its opening gala performance on Saturday night.
City of Greater Dandenong director of cultural facilities Paul Streefkerk this week said Drum staff were gearing up for “something Dandenong will never forget” with renowned Australian performers Julie Anthony and James Morrison headlining the opening evening of entertainment.
Mr Streefkerk said on Monday that construction was nearing competition with only final, finishing touches being applied.
“Progress at this stage is remarkable, the change from day to day is quite significant. Construction now is about lots and lots of finishing stuff, which is very obvious,” he said.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks and several Cabinet ministers, including John Pandazopoulos, Mary Delahunty and John Lenders, will be among the dignitaries present this Saturday evening.
To ensure everything runs smoothly, Mr Streefkerk said an army of 50 Drum staff would be working on the night.
The Drum Theatre and Town Hall has been under construction since January 2004 and was originally budgeted at $13.2 million.
At the 23 January 2006 ordinary meeting of Greater Dandenong council, engineering services director Tim Tamlin revealed the project had crept over budget by $700,000 to $13.9 million.
