![]() ![]() “They don’t just roll out the hits, and similarly, they don’t just roll out the unknowns,” Henry says. The programming at The Old Fitz has been given three sets of fresh eyes with the appointments of new artistic directors Catherine Văn-Davies, Alexander Berlage and Constantine Costi. Instead of a separation between the two, there was now a bonding for the first time.” The locals were invited to see the shows – and many came. “Red Line brought a consistency and excitement to the space, and both Andrew and Vanessa made sure there was no separation between the theatre people and the drinkers. “One reporter wrote of the locals drinking there at the time, that it seemed as if they treated the front bar like their living room.” “Its clientele of tradies, maddies, housos, meth chemists, transgender, con men and assorted ratbags appealed to me greatly,” Nowra tells Broadsheet. ![]() In 2018, he immortalised the pub’s locals with This Much is True, a play written for the space. Louis Nowra, the celebrated playwright and an Old Fitz regular, wrote a history of Woolloomooloo ( Woolloomooloo: A Biography) that centred around the pub. The Old Fitz is not just a pub, and it’s not just a theatre. “The performing arts were so affected by Covid we saw this as a special opportunity to give our support. “The theatre was definitely the reason we took on the task,” James Thorpe, Odd Culture’s owner and group general manager, tells Broadsheet. The group has been committed to maintaining the spirit of the historic space, while installing head chef, Anna Ugarte-Carral (ex- Momofuku Seiobo, and Noma, Copenhagen), to elevate its pub grub. The Woolloomooloo pub was taken over by hospitality group Odd Culture ( The Oxford Tavern, The Duke Of Enmore, Odd Culture Newtown) at the end of 2020, and recently unveiled a new 100-seat outdoor-dining area.
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