The Theatre Royal was the first theatre in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It opened in 1865. It was designed by Andrea Strombuco.

History

Advertisement for Theatre Royal (Brisbane), 1881

Brisbane's first licensed theatre was opened at 80 Elizabeth Street by George Birkbeck Mason in 1865 and eventually named the Victoria Theatre. It was closed in 1880 and rebuilt, opening on 18 April 1881 as the Theatre Royal. It was again remodelled in 1911 when electric lights were installed. In 1940 it was again renovated and the theatre was occupied by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from 1942 to 1945. A small number of revues for American servicemen were offered during this time. It resumed its life as a theatre following the war. From 1949 to 1959, comedian George Wallace Jnr presented weekly variety shows at the Theatre Royal. Early shows featured an all male, ex-army revue company called the Kangaroos. A ballet and showgirls were eventually added to the show to broaden its audience appeal. The female performers began to be called the “Royal Showgirls” and were dressed in bikinis, mini-skirts and shorts. The shows were

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

in style and featured titles which implied nudity. The shows attracted a wide cross section of the Brisbane population to what was described as the ‘Brisbane

Folies Bergere Folies () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Folies is situated on the D329 road, some southeast of Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern ...

’. Following the introduction of television to Brisbane in 1957, Wallace transferred his variety show to a TV format and attendance at the Theatre Royal shows began to decline. Nudity was promoted to improve audience numbers but by 1959 the theatre was compelled to close. 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, the ...

and

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

later used it. It was operated as a nightclub, Swizzles in the 1980s before being demolished in 1987 to make way for the Myer Centre complex development in 1987.

Interior

The theatre could seat 1,350 people, with 350 in the

dress circle An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

, 250 in the stalls and 750 in the pit. It was designed by Andrea Strombuco who had also designed

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...

. It had a private refreshment room for the dress circle patrons and a smoking room.

Decoration

Its proscenium had gold Corinthian columns. The horse shoe shape of the dress circle obscured side views of the stage. After the 1911 refurbishment, the interior was marked by salmon pink, green and cream accents. Seating and ventilation was improved along with the installation of a sliding roof.

Legacy

Programs from the Theatre Royal are held in the

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...

and

Queensland Performing Arts Centre The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (also known as QPAC) is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank, Queensland, South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it ...

Museum. Selected programs are also held in the University of Queensland Fryer Library.

References

{{coord, -27.4705, 153.0257, type:landmark_region:AU-QLD, display=title, name=Theatre Royal (Brisbane) Theatres in Brisbane Former theatres in Queensland Demolished buildings and structures in Brisbane Buildings and structures demolished in 1987