The progress on re-opening the Marian Street Theatre could only be described as “slow, but steady”, SMS Theatre committee chairman James Cadden said after last Tuesday night’s council meeting which voted for a report on options for theatre in Ku-ring-gai, including Marian Street. Over three and a half years ago, Marian Street Theatre was closed for urgent safety work. Since that time, Ku-ring-gai Council has commissioned several reports on the building and the community attitude towards it, but no significant progress has been made towards the theatre’s re-opening.  “The new report could delay the re-opening of the theatre by a further six months but at least something is happening – it certainly wasn’t until the SMS Theatre committee arrived on the scene late in 2016,” said committee chairman James Cadden. “I’m personally disappointed that a number of councillors did not support the very positive motions put forward by Christiane Berlioz, Cheryl Szatow and Elaine Malicki, but there does seem to have been a change in mood within Council towards the theatre. “However, as Cr Armstrong said, there have been enough reports on MST - six to date costing over $200,000 – and Council had everything it needed to make a decision yet still couldn’t do so “The supporters want to see live theatre – not more lengthy reports - produced in Ku-ring-gai.” Mr Cadden said that the motions moved by both Cr Berlioz and Cr Malicki that Council designate the Marian Street Theatre as the site for theatre in Ku-ring-gai would have been extremely positive. “What a fantastic boost that would have been for the cause,” he said.  “Unfortunately, a majority of councillors didn’t agree. There has been no live professional mainstream theatre in Ku-ring-gai since 2001 – it’s time for a change.” With Council amalgamation imminent, it is vital to demonstrate the community support for the building in order to safeguard its future, therefore the Save Marian Street Theatre Committee have gathered over 3,500 signatures online and on paper petitions, with more being added every day. ANNOUNCING OUR WEBSITE We are delighted to announce the launch of our website, which has all the latest information, including articles and photos from the long history of the theatre. Read up on how it's all been going, and if you have any ideas, please get in contact! info@savemariansttheatre.com  www.savemariansttheatre.com SIGN UP TO OUR E-NEWS Want to find out about updates before reading it in the newspaper? Sign up here: http://www.savemariansttheatre.com/#contact