Facade of Her Majestys Theatre Brisbane circa 1898

Her Majesty's Theatre was a theatre in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, between 1888 and 1983. It opened as Her Imperial Majesty's Opera House on 2 April 1888, and was known as His Majesty's Theatre between 1901 and 1952. The largest theatre in Brisbane, it was located at 193 Queen Street. Its façade was in the Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and Corinthian style. The building was demolished in October 1983, when the Wintergarden shopping centre was expanded.

History of the property

The property was originally owned by Byrne Hart. It was leased to C.H. Homes and Harold Ashton. It was later sold to the

AMP Society AMP Limited (formerly Australian Mutual Provident Society) is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through '' ...

in 1973. With the closure of the Winter Garden Theatre, a nearby cinema in 1973, Her Majesty's seemed the next likely candidate for sale and redevelopment. The

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

began to plan in the 1970s for an arts precinct in Brisbane, which would ultimately become the

Queensland Cultural Centre The Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC) is a heritage-listed cultural center, cultural centre on Grey Street in South Brisbane, Queensland, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Bank, Queensland, South Bank precinct locate ...

. Her Majesty's was the only Brisbane theatre with a stage large enough to accommodate the scenery and staging requirements of a number of touring productions. The need for a large stage to possibly replace this kind of theatre would lead to the development of the

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 precinct. Opened in 1985, it includes the Lyric Thea ...

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

. The final performance at the theatre was the Lord Mayor's Command Performance on 16 October 1983. The building was demolished on 23 October 1983, when the Wintergarden shopping centre was expanded to include the Hilton Hotel.

Architect and interior design

The original theatre was designed by Italian born architect

Andrea Stombuco Andrea Giovanni Stombuco (1820-1907) was an Italian-born Australian sculptor and architect. Many of the buildings he designed are listed on the heritage registers in Australia. Early life Andrea Stombuco travelled widely and was involved in vari ...

and son. Stombuco designed a number of Brisbane's buildings in and around Brisbane. The chief builders were O'Keefe and Company and James Lang and Company were responsible for decorative features. In 1929, the theatre was modernised, rebuilt and reopened. Cedric Ballantyne and George McLeish were the architects of this project. The theatre was three storeys, and was 66 feet wide, 248 feet deep with a 60 by 63 foot stage. The earliest theatre included a hotel providing a public bar and tobacconist. The entry to the stalls and pit were via a fountain decorated with satyrs and other female figures. The auditorium ceiling was decorated with a number of cornices featuring egg and dart, chain and bead and other features. The cornices were decorated in rose, shamrock and thistle designs in green, salmon, blue and gold. Each side of the stage featured a pillar decorated in gold accents. Seats in the Dress Circle were in maroon velvet, as was the stage curtain. Stall seating was wooden chairs. Asbestos fire proof paint was used in the scenery, backstage and wings area to reduce the risk of fire. Ventilation was provided by air forced through earthenware pipes. The ceiling was designed to assist hot air to dissipate via a sliding section which was added to the theatre in 1901 by architect, William Pitt. The 1920 remodel of the theatre provided for additional seating, with the removal of the gallery and old dress circle. Another series of renovations occurred in 1941. Dressing rooms for performers were hot particularly in Brisbane summers.

Seating

The main auditorium could seat 1,911 people. This included dress circle, private boxes, stall and gallery seating.

Productions

The chief productions at the theatre were initially opera. In 1901 alone, 29 different opera productions were offered at Her Majesty's. Four theatre companies produced plays at the theatre. The theatre was the largest in Brisbane. J.C. Williamson's company held the lease on the theatre for over 80 years. Films were also shown there.

Famous performers

* Dame

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

, a British contralto sang at a concert at His Majesty's in 1925 *

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

and her ballet company toured in the 1920s *

Ignacy Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; r 1859– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's prime minister and foreign minister during which time he signed the Tre ...

, the polish pianist toured in 1928 *

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

and

Gladys Moncrieff Gladys Lillian Moncrieff (13 April 1892 – 8 February 1976) was an Australian singer who was so successful in musical theatre and recordings that she became known as 'Australia's Queen of Song' and 'Our Glad'. Life and career Early years M ...

* Sir

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

and

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

performed at the theatre in 1948 *

Bob Dyer Robert Neal Dyer OBE (22 May 1909 – 9 January 1984) was a Gold Logie-award-winning American-born vaudeville entertainer and singer, radio and television personality, and radio and television quiz show host who made his name in Australia. Dy ...

*Dame

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

brought her company to perform there in 1932 The final performance at the theatre was the Lord Mayor's Command Performance on 16 October 1983, which featured Australian and English performers, compered by

Bobby Limb Robert Limb Officer of the Order of Australia, AO, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 November 1924 – 11 September 1999) was an Australian-born entertainment pioneer, comedian, band leader and musician and legend of radio, te ...

. Performers included Margaret Noonan, Brian Doyle,

Barry Crocker Barry Hugh Crocker (born 4 November 1935
Official Barry Crocker website) is an Australian

Reg Varney Reginald Alfred Varney (11 July 1916 – 16 November 2008) was an English actor, entertainer and comedian. He is best remembered for having played the lead role of bus driver Stan Butler in the London Weekend Television, LWT sitcom ''On the Buse ...

and

Johnny Young Johnny Young (born Johnny Benjamin de Jong, 12 March 1947, Rotterdam, Netherlands) is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. He had a number-one hit with the double-A-sided single, "Step Bac ...

Demolition

With the redevelopment of Queen Street in Brisbane's Central Business District to become a closed pedestrian mall following the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

, Her Majesty's was earmarked for demolition by the Kern Corporation. Despite community protest, the theatre was demolished on 23 October 1983 to make way for the Hilton Hotel and Wintergarden shopping centre in Brisbane's Central Business District. A Union ban on site over the preservation of the façade of the theatre caused delays. Despite assurances that the façade would be incorporated into the new building, demolition work destroyed the entire complex.

Plans of the building

Plans of the theatre are held at

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

Selected programmes from productions performed at the theatre are held in the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Fryer Library.

References

{{coord, -27.4692, 153.0264, type:landmark_region:AU-QLD, display=title Former buildings and structures in Brisbane Theatres in Brisbane Queen Street, Brisbane Demolished buildings and structures in Brisbane Buildings and structures demolished in 1983