Lane Cove culture lovers rejoice: The Pottery Lane Performance Space (PLPS) officially opened last week after over thirty years of advocacy.
Official Opening Pottery Lane Performance Space
Numerous members and representatives of the Lane Cove creative community attended PLPS’s grand opening on Wednesday, 26 February 2025, to see a first glimpse of Lane Cove’s new culture hub for performances.
The PLPS is at the Lane Cove Community Hub, 1 Pottery Lane, Lane Cove. The Lane Cove Community Hub is also known as the Little Street Car Park Building, and is located across the road from the Lane Cove Aquatic Centre.
This space will be a vibrant addition to Lane Cove and aims to foster creativity, collaboration, and cultural enrichment for the community.
More Than a Performance Space, It Is A Multi-Functional Venue
But wait, there’s more: The PLPS is a state-of-the-art multifunctional venue (Click here to see Lane Cove Council’s Walkthrough Video link). The space was once called the Terrace Room. It was used to host conferences, seminars, workshops, International Women’s Day Events, and Lane Cove Council Business Network events and functions, such as the annual Lane Cove Citizenship Awards.
A million dollars was allocated to repurpose the space for experimental theatre, small-scale productions, cinematic screenings, acoustic concerts, multimedia showcases, community-led events, and a cheeky bar.
The Lane Cove Council Facilities team worked hard to bring the PLPS to life and liaise with expert audiovisual technicians.
Since late last year, Lane Cove Council has been trialling the area and making small tweaks.
Councillors Bridget Kennedy and Kathy Bryla were two of the councillors who championed using an existing space and converting it into a multi-function venue. Originally, the idea was to convert the Lane Cove Council Chambers into a performing arts centre; however, several factors made this plan unworkable.
Lane Cove Deputy Mayor Bridget Kennedy believes the PLPS can host many events.
“The impact that this space is going to have on the community is incredible. It’s really going to enrich it culturally,” Ms Kennedy told ITC.
“We’ve already had lots of interest from outside performers. We’ve got a jazz musician coming on Friday night. It’s really just going to vitalise the area.”
The official opening kicked off with an Indigenous smoke ceremony and welcome to the country, followed by speeches by the Lane Cove Mayor and councillors and an official ribbon cutting.
The crowd was then treated to a soulful performance by R&B band MAHOGANY FLOW – the first of many performances in the adaptive space.
“The Lane Theatre Company has been advocating for a theatre space for 30 years, and this is such a great outcome because it uses an existing space. It repurposes it.”
Councillor Kathy Bryla, in her speech,h noted the following:
“This venue is not just for one group or one type of performance—it is a community space designed to be a home for the many talented creatives here in Lane Cove. It will serve as a stage for our local theatre company, schools, dance groups, musicians, and cultural organisations, fostering artistic growth and community engagement.
This space was an existing council asset which we repurposed, one could say up cycled.
Many community groups contributed to the technical brief but in addition, the brief was to be environmentally conscious in the process and to live out our councils strategic sustainability goals. All items and materials were assessed for reuse and their carbon impact. We had a tight budget but look what can be achieved!
As part of the transformation, we have also refreshed the foyer of the building with a photo exhibition of local performers and artists from our community.
A special thank you to all who took part in this foyer exhibition, including the Lane Cove Theatre Company, Lane Cove Music and Culture, Sydney Community Services, the Lane Cove Choristers, the Lane Cove Concert Band, the Lane Cove Youth Orchestra, Different Degrees Theatre Group , Gallery Lane Cove, and individual performers. The photography exhibition was shot by photographic artist, Joshua Morris and curated by Miguel of Gallery Lane Cove.
The aim of this entry is to create a sense of welcome to an arts space and reflect the new purpose of this venue while celebrating our local talent and performers.
I also want to add a big thank you to Stephanie Kelly and the Lane Cove Council team for realising this community vision in a record breaking time”
Lane Cove Mayor Councillor Merri Southwood added locals would be getting their money’s worth from the space in no time.
“It’s a real community space. That’s the best part of it,” the Mayor told ITC.
“I think it’ll be used to death. I think it will be used every night, in the end, once people get to know about it.”
Lane Cove Theatre Company Can’t Wait To Stage Their First Play at PLPS
The PLPS can seat 135 theatregoers and is designed with full accessibility for individuals with mobility impairments. It has soundproofing, audiovisual stage lighting, and a backstage area for performers.
This is a blessing for the Lane Cove Theatre Company, which previously had to pack up and down equipment for every performance when using their old space at St Aidan’s Church in Longueville.
“We’re very excited, 30 years is a long time to wait for such a venue for the creative community. But better late than never,” Lane Cove Theatre Company President Trent Gardiner said, simultaneously sharing his enthusiasm and anguish for the long-advocated space.
The Lane Cove Theatre Company has four performances lined up for 2025 that locals can treat themselves to. Kicking off is If/Then, on March 21-30; a romantic original story following a woman who is at a crossroads in her life. Read more here.
Showcasing later in the year will be The Shape Of Things, Lysistrata and Into The Woods Jr.
Many other performances and community events will also be held at the space, which can be viewed on the ITC What’s on/Event page.
Lane Cove’s Creative Community on Display
The PLPS’s foyer has been decorated with photographic portraits showcasing Lane Cove’s creative community. Miguel Olmo, Manager of Gallery Lane Cove + Creative, curated the display.
Photographer Joshua Morris captured the images.
“It was a great experience. I knew Miguel, who curated the exhibition from work that I’d done out at Blacktown Arts Center a few years ago,” he said.
“He’s always had a really great creative vision that also enabled people to kind of explore a brief, and the brief in this particular instance was just to draw the personalities out of the performers here.
“We wanted to create unique photographic moments that could then be held up and put up on the walls and be reflective of the diverse and really interesting artistic community.”
As they say in the classics, do yourself a favour and look out for upcoming performances at the PLPS. The good news is that the space is located in the heart of Lane Cove. You can park under the building or at The Canopy, grab a bite to eat before the show at one of Lane Cove’s fabulous eateries, and then enjoy the show.
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