The Queen's Theatre is a building of historic importance in Playhouse Lane,

Adelaide 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 ...

, South Australia. It is the oldest intact theatre in mainland Australia, having originally been built in 1840, the only earlier one in Australia being the still-operational Theatre Royal in Hobart, Tasmania (completed in 1836). It was not the first theatre to open in Adelaide however; there were two earlier, less sophisticated earlier venues created in 1838–9. The Queen's original incarnation only lasted for a couple of years before a recession forced closure, and the building was turned to other uses. The New Queen's Theatre operated in the

billiard room A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table. (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be us ...

of the tavern next door between 1846 and 1850, until the Queen's refurbishment and re-opening as the Royal Victoria Theatre in 1850. "The Victoria", as it was known locally, was Adelaide's only theatre until 1868, when competition from the new Theatre Royal in

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...

led to its closure. After a series of other uses, Heritage SA bought the building in the 1980s, and it was eventually restored and reopened as a performance venue in the 1996 Adelaide Festival of the Arts.

History

Background

By the early 1800s, live performance was increasing in popularity in Australia, although no entertainment venues existed to house performances. In the 1830s, both Sydney and Hobart received two theatres, the first in the Australian colonies. The first theatre to open in Adelaide was the Theatre Royal in 1838, on the first floor of the Adelaide Tavern in Franklin Street, one of Adelaide’s main hotels, just two years after the colony was founded. On 23 November 1839, Samson Cameron, an actor and theatre company manager, opened the Royal Victoria Theatre on North Terrace near

Morphett Street Morphett Street is a main street in the west of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia, parallel to King William Street and numbered from north to south. At its northern end it is part of the West End of Adelaide, a thriving cultural and ...

in a converted warehouse.

First Queen's

Attempts to build a more substantial theatre in an increasingly prosperous Adelaide were made, with a declaration by the ''South Australian Register'' stating "...Mr Solomon, of

Currie Street Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

It was built for ex-convicts

Emanuel Solomon Emanuel Solomon (1800 – 3 October 1873) was a businessman and politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia, representing the seat of West Adelaide in the South Australian Legislative Assembly from 1862 to 1865. He is the bro ...

(1800–1873), who moved to Adelaide in 1837, and his Sydney-based brother Vaiben Solomon (1802–1860) in 1840 for £3000 with seating for over 1000 people. The project had dire predictions of failure from the press and opened with '' Othello'' on 11 January 1841, the manager

John Lazar John Lazar (1 December 1801 − 8 June 1879) was an actor and theatre manager in Australia. He was Mayor of Adelaide from 1855 to 1858. History Lazar was born in Edinburgh, a son of Abraham Lazar, stockbroker, and his wife Rachel née Lazarus ...

in the title role, to "mixed reviews". Unfortunately, public appetite for entertainment had waned with a financial recession brought on by Governor Grey's fiscally responsible regime following the prosperity of Governor Gawler's rule, when huge sums were invested in public infrastructure. After months of losing money, Lazar dismissed his company and converted the seating to something more appropriate to public meetings, and some use was made of the theatre for public meetings and lectures, but did not renew his lease. Solomon offered the government use of the theatre ''gratis'' if they would prohibit the building of further taverns in the vicinity (his Shakspere Tavern, subsequently named Temple Tavern, was adjacent). This was rejected, but in 1843 the government signed a contract with Solomon for three years' rental at £200 per annum for use as Resident Magistrates Court, Supreme Court and offices for the Registrar General, the Advocate General, the Assistant Crown Solicitor and Assistant to the Bench of Magistrates. Between 1846 and 1847 Solomon, whose nephew Judah Moss Solomon (1818–1880) was an occasional partner, attempted to sell the theatre and tavern by lottery, but it was never fully subscribed so he refunded to the punters their stakes.

Reopened as Royal Victoria

The building was reopened as a theatre, re-using the name Royal Victoria Theatre, under the management of

and George Coppin on 23 December 1850. In 1861 it closed for refurbishment and substantial remodelling, and reopened in July with A.J. Solomon the new lessee and Robert MacGowan the stage manager of what was Adelaide's only theatre until the opening of the Theatre Royal at 28

on 13 April 1868, which spelled the demise of the "Victoria".

Other uses

It then became successively a dance hall designated the "Prado", the headquarters for the

City Mission The City Mission movement started in Glasgow in January 1826 when David Nasmith founded the Glasgow City Mission (Scotland). It was an interdenominational agency working alongside churches and other Christian agencies to provide for the spiritu ...

, Formby's Horse Bazaar (1877–c.1900) From 1908 until 1928, J.W. Shannon occupied the premises for use as sales yards, livery, stables and forge. Between 1933 and 1973, it was occupied by McPherson’s Store and Warehouse, Dalgety’s Factory and Store, and McPherson’s Showroom, in that order.

20th–21st centuries

In the 1980s the building was at risk of demolition, until parts of the original theatre were discovered, which sparked protests from the public (including from

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...

) to conserve the building. These features included dressing rooms and the

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

. The South Australian Government, upon acquiring the property after negotiations in the 1990s, initiated efforts to conserve its surviving heritage architecture. the shell of the original theatre still stands within the 1850s facade of the Royal Victoria Theatre. Excavation also revealed historically significant remains and numerous artefacts, including clay pipes, bottles, plates, buttons, props and costumes, shoes, candlesticks and stage decorations, the most significant treasure being a gold and

ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...

earring featuring dangling ivy leaves, which is now in a collection managed by the

History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and public ...

. Most of the artefacts were transferred to the

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...

in 2016. The Queen's Theatre was reopened as a performance venue at the 1996 Adelaide Festival of Arts, with a performance of

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...

. Following essential refurbishments, it was reopened for the launch of the 1998 Festival by

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Life Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia. She b ...

. The theatre is still used as a performance space and function venue, but with stringent conditions intended to preserve as far as possible, the old character of the building. The Theatre was managed by

Arts South Australia Arts South Australia (previously Arts SA) was responsible for managing the South Australian Government's funding for the arts and cultural heritage from about 1996 until late 2018, when it was progressively dismantled, a process complete by early ...

from 2010 to 2018, before being taken over by GWB McFarlane Theatres.

New Queen's Theatre (1846−c.1850)

A new theatre was built in 1846 for George Coppin on nearby land on

Light Square Light Square, also known as Wauwi (formerly Wauwe), is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre. Located in the centre of the north-western quarter of the Adelaide city centre, its southern boundary is Waymouth Street, while Curr ...

belonging to Solomon and managed by John Lazar, designed architect Thomas Price. The hall held 700 and had the distinction of prohibiting smoking in the boxes. In January 1850, the New Queen's Theatre was described by the '' South Australian Register'' as "a hotbed of demoralization" and that "no man can sit out a performance without being disgusted ; no lady can enter the impure precincts without contamination". This article was the subject of a successful libel case against editor John Stephens in March 1850. The Adelaide Garrick Club may have been the last company to mount plays there, with productions of three Thomas Morton comedies, the last in September 1850. There is no newspaper reference to this theatre after November 1850.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Coord, 34.925418, S, 138.595549, E, format=dms, display=title Former theatres in South Australia Theatres in Adelaide South Australian Heritage Register Theatres completed in 1841 History of Adelaide