THE future of one of the peninsula’s longest running theatre companies is uncertain after the Mornington Peninsula Shire reportedly lost key documents and failed to provide a new venue.
Panorama Theatre Company, which has operated for over 40 years, was evicted from their venue in Hastings shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company’s president, Darren O’Shea, said the eviction came after confusion and missing paperwork within the council.
O’Shea said the company was given the use of an old council shed in Hastings “many, many years ago” under a signed agreement which included a clause saying the council would find a replacement venue if the site was ever needed for another purpose.
“We never received a copy of that agreement, but it was signed, and council cannot find it,” O’Shea said. “We did a Freedom of Information request and was told that it still could not be found.”
When the eviction notice was issued, O’Shea said they were not offered a suitable alternative space to operate out of.
“They did offer us a small men’s shed, which was totally inadequate for what we needed,” he said.
“We said, no, we need something larger than that, and basically, they wiped their hands – ‘Oh, well, you didn’t accept this, and we’ve got nothing else.’”
O’Shea and long-time member Val Hardie signed statutory declarations confirming the original tenancy document had been signed, but O’Shea said the copies sent to the shire have since been lost.
He said after multiple meetings with various council staff members over the years, they have been left without an adequate venue.
“We’ve been in hiatus for three years because we’ve just had to put what we could save in storage,” he said.
A shire spokesperson said there was no formal agreement with the group, and they accommodated their props in an informal way at the SES Pound Road Depot for free before it became unsafe, and they needed to find another option.
“We did offer Panorama an alternative location which was declined. We then provided a grant to store costumes on private land,” the spokesperson said.
The company currently stores old costumes and equipment at Bayside Christian College, which has allowed them to use an old portable and container on school grounds.
O’Shea said the lack of suitable venue has prevented them from putting on productions and providing young people interested in theatre with opportunities.
“I don’t have any gain or benefit other than the joy of doing it and doing it for the kids,” he said.
“So, it’s been very painful to not be able to do anything for the last three years and provide that for the children for the youth on the peninsula.”
A petition with over 1200 signatures calls for the council to secure the company a new venue immediately. A GoFundMe was started back in 2022 to attempt to raise $10,000 to help secure a venue. Currently, $1970 has been raised.
In a public post, Hardie said she was “devastated by what has happened to our company and to the wider theatre community in Mornington”.
She called on the council to conduct an investigation into the lost files, issue an apology to the affected groups and volunteers, and commit to providing a venue for the company to use.
“Community theatre is not just about performance – it’s about people,” Hardie wrote.
“It brings us together, builds resilience, and strengthens the social fabric of our town.”
First published in the Western Port News – 19 November 2025
