The Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre in Victoria marked the end of an era on Saturday, hosting its final liquidation sale on many of its set pieces and equipment in preparation for its big move.
The theatre is leaving the Roxy Theatre space after roughly a decade due to challenges paying for its lease.
Rebekah Johnson, general manager of the BBRT, says all live entertainment venues have taken a hit since the pandemic, and “audiences have been slower to come back to certain events, including ours.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve lost our home of the past 10 years, for many good and understandable reasons,” she said. “So it’s time to liquidate and get rid of some of the things we have acquired over the past few years.”
READ ALSO: ‘Heavy hearts’: Victoria Blue Bridge Theatre closing, selling all props and equipment
Over the past four days, the theatre has been selling everything from set furniture to stage equipment to costumes and more.
“There’s everything from hardware – we’ve got tools, we’ve got art supplies and easels – we have costume racks and lots of lighting fixtures and many, many chairs,” said Johnson.
“I don’t why we have so many chairs, but there’s easily 30 of them on the stage behind, so you might just find the one you’re looking for,” she said with a laugh.
The final sale runs from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 30 at the Roxy Theatre, located at 2657 Quadra St.
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Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre general manager Rebekah Johnson is pictured.
The BBRT isn’t sure where it’s moving to yet, but it says it has been in talks with people who have offered spaces or suggested venues.
In the meantime, Johnson will have fond memories of the BBRT’s Roxy Theatre location, which was set up in an old movie theatre.
“It’s a challenging and quirky little space but it was also very rewarding to produce theatre here,” she said. “I think we made a lot of great theatre in this space.”
Because the Roxy Theatre used to be a movie theatre, all the seats had good sightlines and the seats were spaced relatively far apart so people could stretch their legs, something that not all modern stage theatres have.
“We don’t know yet where we’re moving. One step at a time,” said Johnson.
“We’re a small group of theatre people so we are focusing on this event and getting our stuff out of the Roxy in a timely manner, and then we’ll look in the new year.”
Adam Chan
