Also known as: Radiant Hall
Location: 146 Kilmore Street, Christchurch City Centre
Current status: Demolished
Active: 1929–2011
History
The building at 146 Kilmore Street was constructed in 1929 as the Radiant Hall, built for the Radiant Living movement and funded largely through the philanthropy of Thomas Edmonds, the Christchurch confectionery manufacturer best known for his bandstand at the Botanic Gardens. The hall was designed by architect H. Francis Willis in the Spanish Mission style, its buff plaster facade and terracotta roof tiles making it one of the more distinctive interwar buildings in central Christchurch. The Radiant Living movement used the hall for lectures, concerts, and public meetings through the 1930s before its use broadened to the wider community.
By the early 1940s the hall had been taken over by the Canterbury Repertory Theatre Society, which would go on to use it as its principal home for nearly seven decades. The Society had been founded in 1927, staging productions in various venues around the city, and the Kilmore Street hall gave it a permanent base. One of its most celebrated directors was Ngaio Marsh, already a well-established detective novelist when she began directing at the theatre in 1943. Marsh directed numerous productions there until 1969, bringing the company international attention and shaping a generation of Christchurch theatrical talent. Under her direction the Repertory Theatre became one of the most ambitious amateur theatre companies in the Southern Hemisphere.
Alongside its theatrical programming, the Repertory Theatre became an important venue for Christchurch’s music and folk scenes. The Canterbury University Folk Music Club staged concerts at the hall from 1964, with performances regularly selling out the venue. Contemporary newspaper accounts record audiences of several hundred for these evenings, which brought visiting performers from across New Zealand alongside local acts. The city’s jazz community also used the hall through the 1960s, with concerts drawing enthusiastic reviews in the Christchurch press.
By the 2000s the building was in use for a range of live music events alongside its theatrical calendar. Christchurch singer-songwriter Flip Grater and the post-rock band Pine both performed there during this period, representative of the indie and folk acts that found the hall’s intimate size and central location well-suited to smaller shows. The venue continued operating until the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010–2011 rendered the building beyond repair.
The September 2010 earthquake caused significant damage to the structure. The February 2011 earthquake, centred closer to the city, was decisive: the Radiant Hall/Repertory Theatre was assessed as unsafe and was subsequently demolished. Despite its Category I heritage listing by Heritage New Zealand — the highest level of protection available — the earthquake damage was deemed too severe for practical repair, and the building was cleared from the Kilmore Street site. The loss of the theatre was mourned by the Christchurch arts community; the Canterbury Repertory Theatre Society relocated and continued performing, but the Kilmore Street building that had defined its identity for over eighty years was gone.
The jazz concert held at the Repertory Theatre last Friday evening was one of the most enjoyable of its kind held in Christchurch for some considerable time. The large audience was thoroughly appreciative of the performance.
Alan Tunnicliffe, DiscoveryWall, 1966