An old trouper is to make a comeback in Dunedin after years of waiting in the wings.
The historic Athenaeum theatre in the Octagon will be dusted down this week to host a live performance for only the second time since the Fortune Theatre left the site in 1977.
A male burlesque cabaret, Boylesque, has been developed as part of a project to restore the venue to its former glory.
''We wanted to put the life back into the Athenaeum. There is just so much history here and it's such a fantastic space,'' co-producer Rachael Lundy said yesterday.
''Doing this here, where so many people performed in the past, makes you feel connected to Dunedin history. It also puts what we're doing in a historic context. It stretches backwards and, hopefully, forwards.''
A plaque at the front of the 142-year-old heritage building commemorates the link with the Fortune.
Ms Lundy conceived the show after becoming interested in burlesque dancing while doing a gender studies paper at the University of Otago.
''In a lot of ways, it's a social commentary about gender issues. It's an experiment in male burlesque. It's the sort of show that I would like to see,'' Ms Lundy said.
''It has circus undertones, with lots of juggling, object manipulation and whips in abundance.''
The 15-strong troupe also features Manthyng, Tahu McKenzie and the Pretty Gay Productions drag dance troupe.
The Otago Cine Club constructed the 105-seat theatre at the rear of the Athenaeum in 1957 and it was later used by the Fortune Theatre, from 1974 to 1977, before it moved up the road to the former-Trinity Methodist Church.
The theatre has been disused since it was vacated by the Fortune in 1977, apart from a week in 2000 when it was used as the Dunedin Fringe Festival hub.
The Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute cost 32,500 and opened on May 9, 1870, to provide adult education and library access to the first wave of European immigrants in the 1840s.
Zeal Steel owner Lawrie Forbes bought the building from the Dunedin City Council for $900,000 in April to develop it into the Dunedin Arts Hub in the Athenaeum.
Boylesque is on at the Athenaeum at 8pm next Friday and Saturday.
