A Dunedin theatre is celebrating 150 years by harking back to its original opening night with music hall shows featuring sketches, comic songs and rousing choruses.
The Playhouse Theatre first opened as Oddfellows' Hall in 1876 before being converted into a theatre in the 1960s.
Three shows in June will mark the milestone and also raise money to renovate the building, described as being on life support.
During recent rehearsals it was not just voices needing time to warm up on a cold night - heaters were cranked up and coats remained on at the theatre in Albany St.
It has ushered thousands of children through its doors over decades of school holiday shows.
Dunedin Repertory Society committee member Brent Caldwell said it desperately needed an upgrade. The floor in the backstage area had been replaced three times because of leaks in the roof.
"There's just bare boards and some iron separating us from the elements outside so a winter time school holiday show, you really have to wrap up warm when you're performing here."
The theatre still had its original vaulted ceilings and a historic staircase but there was also a hodge-podge of newer additions.
"If you think accessibility, we've got a beautiful ornate staircase that no-one in a wheelchair can go up. We've got limited access and there's no street to stage access and that means that differently-abled performers and members of the audience really struggled to be part of anything that we do here," Caldwell said.
The society now needed to find the remaining about $2.5 million, Caldwell said.
"The building is now at a stage where ... we now have to say 'OK, this is the time'. When we met with the council we said the building was on life support, so things are critical."
Caldwell was looking forward to the upcoming music hall shows and how they would channel the theatre's past.
"It was working class entertainment and the songs reflect the working class perspectives and culture. They're often a bit cheeky and a lot of the time they are completely absurd."
Leo Douglas, 15, first joined the Playhouse children's theatre in 2023 for The Wizard of Oz.
"I've always come to the theatre as a kid. It's always been a big part of my school holidays, coming and watching the cast and meeting them at the end. I've always just loved it and I've always wanted to get involved."
It had been special to join the 150th celebrations and learn about music hall, he said.
"At times I'm going to have to double-check what a four'n hander is and all of this. It's not really stuff I grew up with but it's been really fun. It's cool. I've been able to challenge myself and step into something that I'm not really familiar with."
It would be Genevieve Scanlan's first show at The Playhouse.
"When I saw that there was an audition notice for music hall, that particularly caught my attention because I sort of grew up listening to those old songs and one of our high school shows was music hall so I felt familiar with the genre."
It had been exciting to swap a seat in the audience for a spot on the stage, she said.
"Not only is it just a delight to be part of but it feels such a sort of concrete way of helping what is quite an institution in the amateur theatre scene in Dunedin."
People should give the genre a go, Scanlan said.
"You might go in thinking that you don't know any music hall and then you'll be like 'oh wait, my gran used to sing that song'. I think you'll probably know more than you think you would."
• The Dunedin Repertory Society's Grand Old Playhouse Music Hall show runs from June 12-14 at The Playhouse Theatre.
