New life for an abandoned theater

“Nothing has happened inside Chinatown’s former Harbour City Cinema for more than a decade,” The Sydney Morning Herald writes. ” The old theatre – which once played Chinese films and attracted a crowd of dressed-up movie stars – has been shuttered since the early 2000s, its original triple-door entrance masked by a roller door while the cinema beyond lay dormant.

“But the dust has been wiped away, and the abandoned space will soon have a new life…”

What’s planned is an inspiration to cities everywhere that have a standing but abandoned movie house.

With a central business district revitalization grant from the New South Wales government, the building was brought up to code.

And now, artists from different subcultures in Sydney have been invited to take a lead role in programming the space.

To launch a new stage in life for the abandoned space, organizers have curated thirty-five days of events. What was The Harbour City Twin Cinema is now named Pleasures Playhouse and will host art, parties and late-night dancing from Sep. 22-Oct 31, 2022.

When’s the next flight to Sydney?