The Theatre Network is trying to salvage what’s left of their season, after a fire destroyed their home venue early Tuesday morning.
A day after the fire, the Theatre Network said they would like to rebuild the Roxy in the same location – but so far, it’s too early to say whether that’s possible.
For now, they’re focusing on the rest of the theatre season – a busy one, since they are marking 40 years.
Before February 3, the Theatre Network will need a large theatre space for an upcoming production – and while there are several spaces in Edmonton that are large enough, most have already been booked.
“They need a proper sized stage facility so it’s not like we can build a BYOV Fringe venue or something and make do,” Bradley Moss, artistic director of the Theatre Network said.
“We still have one large show, and then a NextFest 2015 as well coming around the bend, so we have to find places to live in our mind there’s no way we want these things to stop,” Taylor Chadwick with Theatre Network said.
The Roxy Theatre was destroyed in a fire that started early Tuesday morning. It had originally opened in 1938 as a movie theatre, before it was converted into a live performance space in the late 1980s.
There were no answers as to the future of the Theatre Network season Wednesday, but Moss said there’s still time.
“I was in shock yesterday, but immediately we went ‘Ok, what can we do to move it forward?’” Moss said. “The show must go on.
“It’s an intermission, but it’s not the final curtain yet.”
At last word, Edmonton Fire Rescue officials said they were still trying to determine the cause and a damage estimate for the theatre.
With files from David Ewasuk and Nicole Weisberg
