The Pilbeam Theatre is an indoor performance venue in

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

History

The Pilbeam Theatre was officially opened by Australian Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen on 6 June 1979 and was named after the city's mayor at the time,

Rex Pilbeam Reginald Byron Jarvis "Rex" Pilbeam (30 October 1907 – 31 July 1999) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and long-serving mayor of Rockhampton. Biography Pilbeam was born at Longreach, Queensland, the son of John Thomas Pilb ...

. McDonald, Lorna (1995) ''Rockhampton: A History of City & District'' (second edition), published by

Rockhampton City Council The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local go ...

, 1995. Accessed 10 April 2018. Located on the corner of Cambridge Street and Victoria Parade in the city directly opposite the Fitzroy River, the theatre was designed by local architect, Neil McKendry. The venue has a maximum capacity of just under 1000 people. A life-sized sculpture of explorer Charles Archer on his horse Sleipner, designed by Australian artist

Arthur Murch :'' Not to be confused with the 19th-century illustrator Arthur Murch (illustrator)''. Arthur James Murch (8 July 1902, Croydon (Sydney) – 3 September 1989, Avalon (Sydney)) was an Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 1949 with ...

, was installed in front of the theatre and unveiled in 1980. A special seven-night program was held in the theatre's opening week with the opening night concert broadcast live on ABC Radio along with the ceremonial speeches. Anthony Doheny, a Rockhampton-born violinist featured on opening night as a soloist with the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, t ...

Notable performances

Early in his career, Australian film director

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

directed a community musical called ''Crocodile Creek'' at the Pilbeam Theatre in 1986, vision of which was unearthed by a film historian in 2014. Among the many popular Australian musical artists that have used the Pilbeam Theatre over recent years have been

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

, Boy & Bear, Angus & Julia Stone,

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best- ...

Xavier Rudd Xavier Rudd (born 29 May 1978) is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. Several of Rudd's songs incorporate socially conscious themes, such as spirituality, humanity, environmentalism and the rights of Indigen ...

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...

, Melinda Schneider,

Beccy Cole Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, wi ...

, Paul Kelly,

Adam Harvey Adam Harvey (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian country music singer. Harvey has sold over half a million records, has been nominated five times for an ARIA Music Award and has won nine golden guitars at the Country Music Awards of Aust ...

Troy Cassar-Daley Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer. Cassar-Daley has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums over 30 years, including the platinum-selling ''The G ...

, Graeme Connors,

Marina Prior Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera'', opposit ...

and David Hobson. Comedians who have performed at the theatre over recent years include Kitty Flanagan,

Jimeoin James Eoin Stephen Paul McKeown (born 24 January 1966), better known as Jimeoin (pronounced "Jim Owen"), is an English-born Irish comedian and actor. Jimeoin rose to prominence in the early 1990s in Australia, where he had his own TV show and ...

, Carl Barron, Dave Hughes,

Kevin Bloody Wilson Kevin Bloody Wilson (born Dennis Bryant; 13 February 1947) is an Australian musical comedian who performs comical songs with his heavy Australian English accent and often including sexual themes. He has won one ARIA Music Award. Early career ...

Arj Barker Arjan Singh Āulakh (born 12 August 1974), known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. He was born to an engineer father a ...

and

Akmal Saleh Akmal Saleh ( ar, أكمل صالح Coptic: AKMAΛ CAΛΕϨ) (born 21 July 1964) is an Egyptian-Australian comedian and actor. He was born in Egypt and arrived in Sydney with his family in 1975 at the age of 11. He has been performing comedy si ...

.(17 December 2015
Carl Barron's Rockhampton show a quick sellout
''The Morning Bulletin'', APN News & Media. Retrieved 10 April 2018. It was reported in 2015 that Carl Barron holds the record for the fastest selling adult show in the Pilbeam Theatre's history. Akmal Saleh was scheduled to perform at the Pilbeam Theatre again in 2011, with proceeds from the show destined for the victims of the

2010-11 Queensland floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

. However, he cancelled the show after claiming he had received threats from local residents, following his controversial comments about Rockhampton on Network Ten's ''

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten ...

'' in 2009 when he said the city should be removed from Australia and relocated to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Saleh claimed he was angry after being assaulted and racially abused by a woman who had accused of being a

paedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

after allegedly observing Saleh film children on an

amusement ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

at the 2009 Rockhampton Show while Saleh and two friends, including

Joel Ozborn Joel Ozborn is an Australian comedian. Biography When Ozborn was in high school he won a public-speaking competition; he also won the 1998 "street performer of the year", presented by the Sydney Opera House live on 2Day FM. Ozborn is also known ...

, were filming a "

Borat ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charle ...

-esque" skit dressed in traditional Arabian outfits. Rockhampton Regional Council also uses the Pilbeam Theatre to host their ''Morning Melodies'' concerts for

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

s which has attracted notable Australian performers including Lucky Starr,

Kamahl Kandiah Kamalesvaran ( ta, கந்தையா கமலேஸ்வரன்; born 13 November 1934), better known by his stage name Kamahl, is a Malaysian-born Australian singer and recording artist. His highest charting Australian single, ...

Rhonda Burchmore Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer. Career Burchmore appeared as Kate in the 1982 film, ''The Pirate Movie''. Burchmore gave her first Australian theatre performance in the 1988 production of '' Sugar ...

Ian Stenlake Ian Edward Stenlake (born 5 July 1969 in Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian actor. Career Stenlake's career began during a trip to Rome when he was convinced to become an extra in a movie that was being filmed there - as a w ...

Little Pattie Patricia "Little Pattie" Thelma Thompson (née Amphlett) OAM (born 17 March 1949) is an Australian singer who started her career as a teenager in the early 1960s, recording surf pop, with her backing group The Statesmen, she subsequently went on ...

, James Blundell,

Rachael Beck Rachael Elizabeth Beck (born 9 February 1971) is an Australian stage and television singer-actress. From 1991 to 1994 Beck had a major role on the popular sitcom, '' Hey Dad..!'', as Samantha Kelly. From 2006 to 2008, Beck appeared on all thre ...

and Karen Knowles. Flamboyant Australian entertainer Peter Allen infamously damaged the Pilbeam Theatre's

Steinway piano Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

by dancing atop of it during a concert in 1980.

Special events

Along with numerous musical, cultural and comedic performances, the Pilbeam Theatre has also hosted a number of special events. This includes a three-day sitting of

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral st ...

in 2005, prompting strict security measures to be employed around the venue. The cost of holding the parliamentary sitting at the Pilbeam Theatre in Rockhampton also attracted criticism. ABC Television's '' Q&A'' program hosted by Tony Jones was broadcast live from the Pilbeam Theatre in 2014, featuring a panel of guests which included

Patrick McGorry Patrick Dennistoun McGorry FAA FASSA FAHMS FRCP FRANZCP (born 10 September 1952) is an Irish-born Australian psychiatrist known for his development of the early intervention services for emerging mental disorders in young people. Positi ...

, Josh Thomas and

Bob Katter Robert Bellarmine Carl Katter (born 22 May 1945) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1993. He was previously active in Queensland state politics from 1974 to 1992. Katter was a member of the ...

. The Pilbeam Theatre has also hosted auditions for reality talent programs, '' Australian Idol'' and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''.(14 February 2015
Singer steps out of shower and onto stage for X Factor
''The Morning Bulletin'', APN News & Media. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

References

{{reflist Theatres in Queensland