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In his latest Afterthoughts blog, Jeff Clark highlights the growing support from NZ and around the world for The Court Theatre in Christchurch - including new patron of the fundraising appeal Dame Maggie Smith.

"For an internationally renowned actress to show her support for a theatre on the other side of the world is an incredibly generous gesture."

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The Court Theatre has a giant red balloon floating above The Shed.

To promote the new location, The Court has acquired a three-metre helium balloon with the theatre logo on it. It’s a great visual symbol - as well as heaps of fun for us to put up every morning. Admittedly, on particularly windy days we err on the side of caution and keep it inside, but when it’s flying high it looks spectacular.

We are only three months off opening for the public and progress seems to be reaching a sort of exponential curve – every time I stick my head into the construction site proper (wearing a hard hat and high-vis vest, of course) it seems a new wall or section has been completed. The theatre is taking shape around us.

Good news, much like construction, seems to be accelerating as we get closer to opening the new theatre.

Creative NZ have donated $500,000 as an emergency grant towards building The Shed, Actors’ Equity (through their international fraternity of actors’ unions) have donated $37,000 to The Court and offers of support seem to be coming in with increasing frequency. A Kaiapoi artist, Karen James, has produced twenty artworks inspired by Christchurch (to be exhibited in Kaiapoi’s Hislop Cafe from September 18-25) and is donating the proceeds from their sale to the fundraising appeal. Staff of The Court Theatre have also featured in a music video by Scribe. The support from the artistic community has been fantastic.

The most public gesture of support has come from Dame Maggie Smith, the new Patron of The Court Theatre Fundraising Appeal. For an internationally renowned actress to show her support for a theatre on the other side of the world is an incredibly generous gesture. In a nice piece of synchronicity, The Court’s first production was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, a role for which Dame Smith won her first Academy Award. By aligning herself with our cause, Dame Maggie helps us reach out to a wider world.

Alongside the artistic community, support from the general public has been strong. Donations continue to come in: not just of cash, but also donations of furniture, costumes and old programmes. Every little bit helps – and will continue to help, even after the new theatre opens.

Over the first weekend of spring, The Court Fundraising Committee launched HOST. The idea is relatively simple: people invite guests to their home, serve them a meal and instead of paying for the food, the diners donate to The Court Theatre. It’s a fun way of combining the social aspect that people have been missing as much as theatre with philanthropy. Over ninety people have registered thus far as volunteer diners (and donors) for The Court.

Even with all the progress that we have made, there is still a way to go – not just to raise the $4.6 million required to build The Shed, but replacing the props, costumes and equipment lost in the Arts Centre.

In other news, a certain sporting tournament has just kicked off around the country. I’m not a huge rugby fan, so much of the pomp and circumstance (and general fervour) of the tournament has been lost on me. Of course, the opening ceremony offered a spectacular mix of visual and performing arts that celebrated New Zealand (from traditional Maori culture to dancing cranes) but it almost feels like the competition is taking place in another country. There have been some efforts locally (via the “Fan Zone” and a number of rugby-themed productions being staged around the city) to feel like a part of the national event, but, by and large, Christchurch is not a performer on this particular stage.

Closer to home, of course, September 4 marked the one year anniversary of the day the ground started shifting beneath our feet. There was a massive group hug, a concert in CBS Arena (free to the public thanks to strong ticket sales for the remainder of the Chch Arts Festival) and the lighting of the Lights of Hope (the comedian in me must say “so far, no Batman”) as well as a number of other events, commemorations and activities to mark one year since the start of all the seismic silliness.

It was also Father’s Day however and, as a father of two, I found my day spent with my family eating, talking and running around with a “feathersword” (those who know don’t need to ask, those who have no idea what I’m talking about, I don’t have time to explain) rather than thinking about the past year. In all honesty, I much preferred that.