Important Update from fortyfivedownstairs

fortyfivedownstairs COVID-19 UPDATE April 2020

Thanks to the immediate and generous response of our landlords, fortyfivedownstairs is still in residence, but we’re paddling very hard beneath the surface to stay in a position to re-open when the current health crisis allows us to do so.

What lies ahead?
We’re working to re-schedule as much of our planned program as possible. It’s heartbreaking for all the artists, performers, writers, directors, designers and technical wizards who should be presenting new work right now – the repercussion through the industry is devastating, and we are acutely conscious of the fact that the majority of our creative community could slip through the cracks in terms of government support. [Performer Fiona Press (currently in the ABC TV series, The Heights) has eloquently highlighted the issue on her Facebook page.]

An additional blow last week was the devastating loss of Australia Council funding to some of our most iconic cultural institutions, including: La Mama, where the contemporary flowering of Australian writing for performance began over fifty years ago; Australian Book Review, the outstanding literary magazine, who during its sixty years has been dedicated to paying fees to all its contributors, and created new and substantial cash prizes for poets and short story writers; and Albury’s HotHouse Theatre, where several of the most successful productions seen at fortyfivedownstairs had their first public developments and showings.

We’ll keep you updated here on our website, as well as over on our Facebook and Instagram pages. In the meantime, we’ll have some fun looking back at past performances and exhibitions, and we’ll try and get you a sneak peek into some in the future!

Stay safe everyone. We miss you!