The Prince of Wales was a theatre in

Castlereagh Street, Sydney Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only. Description Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...

, New South Wales. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice; the second time as the Theatre Royal.

History

The theatre, near the corner of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and Castlereagh streets, was built for Joseph Wyatt, who had earlier built the

Royal Victoria Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal V ...

in Pitt Street, and opened on 12 March 1855 with

William Dind William Dind (c. 1813 – 23 January 1895) was an hotelier and theatre manager in Sydney, Australia, where he was the longtime lessee of the Royal Victoria, and Prince of Wales theatres. He settled on Sydney's North Shore, where he was active in ...

his co-manager. It was designed to accommodate around 3,000 patrons: 1500 in the pit (stalls), 500 in the dress circle; gallery 500 and upper boxes 750. The first lessee was J. Gordon Griffiths, and the first production was Knowles' ''The Hunchback'', starring Mr and Mrs Waller. Wyatt was forced to sell the theatre in 1858; he was declared insolvent and died 19 July 1860. The theatre was destroyed by fire on the morning of 3 October 1860. It started at Holmes's bakery adjoining; three people died as a result of a wall of the burning theatre collapsing. It was rebuilt as the Prince of Wales Opera House by

Robert Fitzgerald Robert Stuart Fitzgerald (; 12 October 1910 – 16 January 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and translator whose renderings of the Greek classics "became standard works for a generation of scholars and students".Mitgang, Herbert (Janua ...

and opened on 23 May 1863 with

Flotow Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow /flo:to/ (27 April 1812 – 24 January 1883) was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera ''Martha'', which was popular in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th. Life ...

's '' Martha'', played by

Lyster's Opera Company William Saurin Lyster (21 March 1828 – 27 November 1880), often referred to as W. Saurin Lyster, was an impresario, active in Australia. Early life Lyster was born in Dublin, Ireland, the third son of Chaworth Lyster, a captain in the army, ...

. Robertson died in 1865 and ownership of the theatre passed to his children by his first wife. David Crabb lost money as lessee;

Edgar Ray Edgar Ray (24 April 1828 – 23 August 1905) This article goes into great detail on Ray's family and early life. was an English entrepreneur who launched two magazines in Australia, ''Melbourne Punch'' and ''Sydney Punch''. On his return to Englan ...

followed in 1867, and despite spending a fortune on improvements and a high-class production of Leman Rede's ''Our Village'', theatre-goers stayed away and he too was driven to insolvency. By 15 November 1867

George Coppin George Selth Coppin (8 April 1819 – 14 March 1906) was a comic actor, a theatrical entrepreneur, a politician and a philanthropist, active in Australia.Sally O'Neill,Coppin, George Selth (1819–1906), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', ...

had taken over as lessee, with J. R. Greville as stage manager;

succeeded Coppin in 1868. The theatre was destroyed by fire on the morning of 6 January 1872. Two firemen were killed when a wall of the burning theatre collapsed and another died of injuries. Their names were James Coates, Henry Vaughan, and Charles Tost. The last performance at the theatre was the pantomime ''The House that Jack Built'' which had been losing money. The theatre manager

, who was uninsured, lost heavily and quit the business. It was rebuilt for

Samuel Lazar Samuel Lazar (1838 – 14 November 1883) was an Australian theatre manager, producer of pantomimes and operas, and occasional actor. History Lazar was a son of theatre manager John Lazar, and as a child frequently appeared on stage in his father' ...

as the Theatre Royal, which opened on 11 December 1875 with

H. J. Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincial ...

's ''

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'',

Adelaide Bowring Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and W. J. Holloway in the leading roles.

Notes and references

{{coord missing, New South Wales Former theatres in Sydney 1856 establishments in Australia 1872 disestablishments in Australia