It's been a bad year for the arts sector due to COVID-19, but ironically if it wasn't for the virus, Daniel and Hayley Stoddart may not have a new performing space.
The Very Popular Theatre Company and Hunter Drama founders were in the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown when they stumbled upon a gem of a property at Islington.
"Ironically it was a time when the theatre scene was non-existent, all classes and productions had been shutdown," Mr Stoddart said.
"We'd been looking for a really long time but we weren't actively looking during COVID.
"We were driving past this building and thought 'wouldn't this be good'. They had $2.4 million on the building. We went in with this ridiculous offer that was less than half that.
"Without negotiation they accepted it."
Related: The show must go on: Hunter Drama gets creative with its shift to online learning
Hunter Drama had previously operated out of a rented space at the Young Actors Development Centre at Broadmeadow, but the lease was set to run out at the end of this year, while The Very Popular Theatre Company borrowed space from Hunter Drama.
All Very Popular Theatre Company rehearsals are now taking place in the new Fern Street building and, from the start of 2021, all Hunter Drama courses and programs will be run from the new location.
As well as having a 300-400 seat theatre, which is expected to be constructed in the next two years, two rehearsal spaces have already been set up in the new building. There will also be a book shop where people can buy plays and music scripts.
The building was previously home to Newcastle business Teterin Engineering and Mr Stoddart said while COVID-19 may have impacted the lower offer being accepted, it was only due to the owner's community-mindedness that they were able to make such a deal.
"He fell in love with the idea of turning it into a performing space," Mr Stoddart said. "He understood that the arts can make a difference."
Mr Stoddart said as well as being a permanent home for the two theatre companies, the space would be available to other groups to hold medium-sized shows.
"Newcastle has badly needed a 200-300 seat theatre for a long time," Mr Stoddart said.
"Apart from Civic, which holds 1400 and the Playhouse which holds 170, there's no medium sized public facilities available to stage shows.
"It will be an opportunity for our industry to grow and be able to jump up into that next stage of business."
Mr Stoddart said before COVID-19, Hunter Drama had about 100 people on its waiting list, and the new space would allow the theatre company to put on more classes.
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