2. History

The Hayman Hall building was one of the first buildings of WAIT (the Western Australian Institute of Technology), and features the iconic Ritter Panels on the façade. WAIT transitioned to Curtin University of Technology in 1987, which transitioned to Curtin University in 2010.

WAIT Campus, 1967. Curtin Flickr account. https://www.flickr.com/photos/curtinuni/albums

WAIT publicity information, Curtin Flickr account. https://www.flickr.com/photos/curtinuni/albums

The below information is from http://haymantheatre.curtin.edu.au/about/

Theatre Arts at Curtin began in 1973, based in Hayman Hall at what was then WAIT (Western Australian Institute of Technology). The first public productions were staged with professional actors with students providing minor roles and technical support. In 1977 the building and the course were radically restructured. The Hayman Hall proscenium stage was blocked off and raked seating and grid lighting installed. What had previously been two upstairs lecture theatres became what we now call the Hayman Theatre Upstairs and the Theatre Office. The Major Production program began to expand with a greater emphasis on student participation. Lunchtime and Sunday Night Theatre programs began in 1978. On no other Western Australian campus can staff and students enjoy free, regular theatre experiences throughout the academic year. 

Hayman Theatre Upstairs

The space was named after the original experimental Theatre Upstairs in the Royal Court Theatre in London. The first Lunchtime Theatre production took place in early 1978: Harold Pinter’s The Lover, directed by Steve Jodrell. Over the next few years, due largely to the enthusiasm of students, the number of productions grew so that by the early 1980s there was a production on every week of the then 15-week semester. A special unit was established and senior students became responsible for the management of the whole Lunchtime/Sunday Night Theatre program. Over the years the Theatre Upstairs has become technically more sophisticated and expanded to include a control booth and dressing rooms but the format of the program has remained essentially as it was originally conceived by Tony Nicholls in 1979, a place for students to experiment in performance making.