The Mayfair Theatre,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

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, was opened on 8 December 1914 as the "King Edward Picture Theatre". It is owned by the Mayfair Theatre Charitable Trust and serves as a 400-seat venue for live performances for a number of local community groups and as the Dunedin venue for some touring agencies. It is located in King Edward Street,

South Dunedin South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retai ...

, close to the crossroads known as Cargill's Corner.

History

The theatre was built as a purpose-designed cinema in 1914 by the King Edward Picture Theatre Company. This included some people prominent in Dunedin business such as William and Mary Ann Hudson of the eponymous confectionery company, the brewer Charles Speight and Robert and Charles Greenslade, also of the brewery (

Speight's Speight's is a beer brand and a brewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The brand is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company Lion, itself a subsidiary of Kirin. Speight's is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling ...

The name overtly associated with the building's design is Edward Walter Walden (died 1944), but it seems to reflect the expertise and personal touch of

Edmund Anscombe Edmund Anscombe (8 February 1874 – 9 October 1948) was one of the most important figures to shape the architectural and urban fabric of New Zealand. He was important, not only because of the prolific nature of his practice and the quality of ...

(1874–1948). This was early in the history of purpose-designed cinemas. While live venues had fan-shaped auditoria and deep stages behind the proscenium arch the Mayfair has the characteristic rectangular auditorium and originally small space behind the proscenium of a cinema. It was decorated with exuberant plasterwork by Robert Wardrop (1858–1924) which remains a striking feature of the interior. There are solemn faced caryatids, resembling respectable Dunedin matrons and personalised naked putti. It was modified for sound in 1934 and renamed the Mayfair Theatre. The proscenium was altered, as was some plasterwork and new stained glass windows were introduced, in a re-fit designed by Llewellyn E. Williams. It was closed as a cinema on 25 September 1966. The building was acquired by the Dunedin Opera Company in 1967 which converted it to a live venue. The seating capacity was reduced from 862 to 413 by removing the ground floor stalls and advancing the proscenium into the auditorium to achieve a greater stage depth. It has since been operated as a live theatre, particularly for opera. By 2008 it was one of oldest three remaining buildings in New Zealand originally purpose-designed as cinemas, with the Princess Theatre in

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

(1913) and the Victoria Theatre in Devonport, Auckland (1912). In 2008, a $20,000 state-of-the-art fire alarm system was installed with donations from several charities. Previously the code phrase "Mr Sands to report to the dressing rooms" would have been used to evacuate the building, but this was eventually disallowed by the

Fire Service A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

as not meeting legal requirements. On 5 December 2008 the theatre was registered by the

New Zealand Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage bui ...

as a Category II historic place.

The theatre today

In 2013 the Mayfair Theatre Charitable Trust was formed from members of the Dunedin Opera Company and registered as a Charity on 15 October 2013. The Dunedin Opera Company then gifted the Mayfair Theatre to the Mayfair Theatre Charitable Trust on 30 June 2014 to separate the two groups and allow each to pursue their respective passions – Opera Otago pursuing its passion for performance, while the theatre trust pursues its passion for the Mayfair as a community venue.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Mayfair Theatre
Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in Otago Theatres in Dunedin Theatres completed in 1914 1910s architecture in New Zealand