The state’s main stage venue, the Heath Ledger Theatre, will have reduced operational capacity for more than a year as the automatic fly system that moves onstage scenery awaits a $2.5m replacement. 

The Arts and Culture Trust, the statutory authority that manages and operates the State Theatre Centre and other government cultural venues, says it will replace the fly system at the end of next year.

Major users of the Heath Ledger Theatre, including Black Swan State Theatre Company, have been informed of the proposal to use a static grid system – off which scenery would be hung – in the interim.  

“To support the delivery of WA’s vibrant 2026 festival season, planned productions by our resident companies and the broader arts sector, a strategic decision was made to program staged replacement works of the fly system from November 2026 to January 2027 – thereby enabling the venue to remain operational for the majority of the year with the use of a manual suspension system solution.” 

The Trust said hirers will not incur additional costs. “The State Theatre Centre will continue to be operational throughout the works period from November 2026, with all other performance areas remaining open for business.”

The automatic fly system has been the subject of discussions with Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance theatre worker representatives after concerns about periodic malfunctions. 

MEAA Industrial Organiser Andrew Markey confirmed that “ongoing safety concerns” about the operation of the fly system were first raised with the Trust in 2023, and regular discussions around decommissioning the system had taken place since then. He welcomed the decision to decommission and replace the machinery, which was installed in 2011 when the theatre complex opened.

The Trust confirmed that an onstage incident occurred on 31 October in Heath Ledger Theatre during rehearsals for the WAAPA musical Tivoli Lovely. 

“During a rehearsal session a piece of scenery (which is built onto a scenery truck or dolly) was placed in the wrong location on top of some fabric. Consequently, when the fabric was lifted by the fly system, it caught on the dolly which flipped. No one was injured during this incident.”

Theatre insiders told Seesaw that the automated fly system has a sensor that should activate if it senses an obstruction, preventing the kind of incident that occurred.

However, the Trust said the incident was “related to human error” not to issues with the fly system. 

“The fly system has a weight sensor that monitors the live load and will prevent a fly line from operating if it exceeds the maximum weight of 500kg.  However, in the case of the dolly incident, the weight was not heavy enough to trigger an overweight alarm and cessation.”  

The Trust says it has “a thorough safety and business continuity practice to ensure all technical aspects of delivering shows are working as they should.”  

In its 2024-25 annual report, the Trust stated that a state government injection of $9.8 million for critical equipment has enabled essential upgrades in several of its performing venues. The equipment includes theatre lighting consoles, audio consoles, replacement of chain motors, replacement of His Majesty’s Theatre’s fly batten and upgrades to house lighting.

“Procurement for a replacement of the State Theatre Centre automated fly system is also underway,” it reported.