For well over 40 years, it was a thriving hub of social activity, and now Oberon’s Malachi Gilmore Hall is open again thanks to dedicated owners Lucy and Johnny East.
The state heritage-listed art deco theatre was constructed in 1937 and quickly became the centre of Oberon’s social life hosting dances, concerts, dinners and movies.
Social activities at the hall declined in popularity throughout the 1970s and in 1984, it was sold and converted into a wool handlers’ warehouse.
In 2017, Lucy and Johnny East happened to be visiting Oberon when they came across this art deco wonder. They purchased it and, with a lot of help from the state government and State Heritage NSW, they began the transformation of this iconic venue.
Restoration works included structural and decorative repairs to interiors, installation of new state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems and fitting out the auditorium with art exhibition and theatre production capabilities.
HME Services has been working with Lucy and Johnny since 2019 through various design iterations. Among the unique challenges of working in a space designed for a different time was to maximise the use of the small stage while proving effective masking and functional backstage access. It was also necessary to incorporate a 6m wide projection screen behind the proscenium which would disappear when not in use and mask the entire proscenium opening when down.
With only 200mm above the proscenium before the timber ceiling and a significant amount of load capacity required including the 180kg screen, rigging and masking required careful consideration and planning. A traditional pipe grid was impractical and so with input from HME’s in-house engineering team, it was decided to incorporate a Unistrut grid system that suspends the screen, drapes and LX Bars taking up only 84mm of the limited available height from the ceiling with additional masking from flat border drapes.
To mask the side edges of the screen there are pivoting leg drapes. When discreet backstage access is not required, the legs can pivot 90° to form a neat box enclosure together with the rear traveller, maximising the useable on-stage area. This makes the space great for bands, stand-up comedy, and presentations while maintaining the ability to be used as a more theatrical stage or a community cinema.
HME provided JC Joel IFR Wool stage drapes, with the pivoting legs, as well as motorised HME Protrack for FOH.
A large box-frame truss structure was installed over the auditorium with theatrical LED fixtures so the floor space can be used for performances as well as exhibitions. Constructed with Milos M390L Heavy Duty Tri-Truss, the frame is suspended on four Verlinde Stagemaker SL Series 500Kg D8+ chain hoists with HME’s BCHC4 motor controller providing synchronized raising and lowering of the truss. Extending out from the 10m x 4m truss frame are pipe rigging arms for house lighting that double as illumination of exhibition panels suspended from the main truss.
Sitting above the main frame is an adjustable cross member that also carries the main house projector. This gives the venue additional rigging flexibility and the opportunity to easily re-focus the image from stage-screen to floor or alternative screen, during exhibitions or other community functions.
HME chose an LSC APS Intelligent Switchrack, LSC MDR/RDM DMX Splitter and Zero88-FLX24 console for control with custom Socapex power looms and HME LX Bars delivering power to the trussing and stage.
Luminaires supplied by HME include ShowPRO RGBAL LED Fresnels with DMX Zoom and ShowPRO HP/FC LED 15-30 Deg Zoom Profiles.
Altman Chalice 100 house/exhibition pendant lighting, with swappable lenses, has also been installed.
A cinema-like experience is delivered by the motorised 250” projection screen from Screen Technics that covers the entire proscenium opening.
The official re-launch of the venue was a huge success, with 45 performers and technical crew putting on a show for a sold-out audience on the Saturday and a near sold-out matinee on the Sunday.
