The Theatre Royal on

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 ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

was a significant venue in the history of the stage and

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South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. After a small predecessor of the same name on Franklin Street (built 1838), the Theatre Royal on Hindley Street was built in 1868. It hosted both stage performances and

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

, passing through several changes of ownership before it was eventually demolished to make way for a multi-storey car park in 1962.

History

19th century

The first "Theatre Royal" in

was a small venue above the Adelaide Tavern in Franklin Street, managed by a Mr Bonnar, and was opened in May 1838. The first production staged there was ''Mountaineers, or, Love and Madness'' ( Colman). Bonnar was succeeded as manager by Sampson Marshall. This was eclipsed in 1841 by the opening of the Queen's Theatre on Gilles Arcade, off

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

Royal Victoria Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was 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 ...

(later Queen's) opened, also on Gilles Arcade, with Coppin and

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 ...

joint managers. In December 1865 a prospectus was issued in Adelaide for a Theatre Royal company to take over White's Assembly Rooms and the adjacent Clarence Hotel, alternatively to purchase a vacant site and erect a new building. By December 1867 plans had been prepared for a new structure to be added to the rear of Peter Cummings & Son's drapery store at 21 Hindley Street, Leonard Voullaire's at 23 (then was the financially troubled Paull & Meredith's wine bar 1868–1870), and Mrs Bament's at 27. Paull & Meredith had a wine bar. Thomas English was chosen as supervising architect and W. Lines the builder. The proprietors were Lazar, John Temple Sagar, and Jochim Matthias Wendt. The foundation stone was laid by owner of the property Henry Fuller on 8 January 1868, and the At the foundation ceremony, Fuller, then

Mayor of Adelaide This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Adelaide, a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia. The first local government in Australia was formed on 31 October 1840 with the election of ninet ...

, said that it would replace the "inferior" Royal Victoria as Adelaide's principal theatre. Seating 1300, it opened as Adelaide's second major theatre. The first performance was held on 13 April 1868 (

Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...

), a production of ''All that Glitters is not Gold'' by John Norton. Edgar Chapman became owner of the property shortly afterwards, and it remained in his family for some time. The first lessee and director was

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'', ...

of Coppin, Harwood and Hennings, with stage manager J. R. Greville (1834–1894), a noted comedian. Lazar was lessee and manager from 1870, for a time in partnership with one Reuben Mills, suspended while his liquidity was being sorted out, then sole lessee from 1871.

James Allison James Allison or Jim Allison may refer to: * James Allison (pirate) (fl. 1689–1691), pirate active near Cape Verde and the Bay of Campeche * James Allison Jr. (1772–1854), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania * James Wh ...

joined him as partner in 1873, became sole lessee around 1876. In October 1876 Edgar Chapman purchased the Theatre Royal, its hotel and the adjoining shops for £11,000, and lost no time in appointing George Johnson architect for a complete rebuild of the theatre. Enlarged to accommodate 3,000 patrons, the theatre became the first example of

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

theatrical interior design in Adelaide. The rebuilt house was opened on 25 March 1878 with an address written by

Ebenezer Ward Ebenezer Ward (4 September 1837 – 8 October 1917) was an Australian politician and journalist. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1870 to 1880, and from 1881 to 1890, representing Gumeracha (1870–1880), Burra (1 ...

, followed by the opera ''

Giroflé-Girofla ''Giroflé-Girofla'' is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Charles Lecocq. The French libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier. The story, set in 13th century Spain, concerns twin brides, one of whom is abducted by pirates. ...

'' with

Emily Soldene Emily Soldene (30 September 1838 – 8 April 1912) was an English singer, actress, director, theatre manager, novelist and journalist of the late Victorian era and the Edwardian period. She was one of the most famous singers of comic opera ...

Minna Fischer Minna Pauline Fischer (20 January 1858 – 7 August 1941) was an Australian lyric soprano and singing teacher in London. History Fischer was born in Tanunda, South Australia, the second daughter of George Friedrich Fischer and his second wife ...

and Clara Vesey. These first few years were the heyday of musical theatre. In 1883 external fire stairs were erected in response to demands from the City Council. In January 1885 Arthur Chapman, a brother of the owner, joined

George Rignold George Richard Rignold, , (1839 – 16 December 1912) was an English-born actor, active in Britain and Australia. Early life Rignold was born in Birmingham, England. He was the son of William Rignall, an actor and theatre manager, and his wife P ...

and James Allison as co-lessees; Chapman being the local representative. In December Rignold and Allison withdrew from the partnership, leaving Chapman as sole trustee, as well as acting as managing the property for the ailing Edgar Chapman, and then for his estate. He continued in both roles April 1886, when Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove took over the lease, and on 1887 appointed Wybert Reeve as manager. Around 1889 Reeve became sole lessee of the theatre. On 19 October 1896 he hosted the first public demonstration in South Australia of moving pictures, the projector being a

cinématographe Lumière Cinematograph or kinematograph is an early term for several types of motion picture film mechanisms. The name was used for movie cameras as well as film projectors, or for complete systems that also provided means to print films (such as the L ...

. A number of short films, around a minute in length and featuring dancers and American folk heroes, were shown. However, the venue was deemed unsuitable as a cinema, and the screening apparatus was moved to the Beehive Building not long afterwards.

20th century

Wybert Reeve retired from management in 1900, and sold the lease to Frederick Pollock, who managed the theatre capably until forced by illness to take on Herbert Myers (1879–1927), his wife's nephew, as manager. Pollock died in November 1908, and his wife continued to run it in partnership with Myers. The theatre was further enlarged and updated in 1914 under James Williamson, who reopened on 11 April that year and continued to run the theatre for around 50 years. William Pitt was commissioned by the manager George Tallis. Pitt's design included a

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

arch in order to improve the acoustics, and lengthening of both the auditorium and the exterior facade. Interior decor was in

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

period style. In 1918 the theatre hosted the premiere of ''

The Woman Suffers ''The Woman Suffers'' is a 1918 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford. It is a melodrama starring Lottie Lyell. Two-thirds of the movie still survives.Merv Wasson, "The Woman Suffers: Why Ever Was She Banned?", ''Cinema Papers'', Ju ...

'', an Australian

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

directed by

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford; 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer, and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australia ...

. Myers purchased the lease in December 1921, and in 1920 purchased the property from the Chapman estate. Myers, before his death in 1927, sold a half-share in the theatre to Sir George Tallis of Melbourne, who later sold a quarter interest of his share to the Tait family business. (Theatre entrepreneur Frank Tait had worked for J. C. Williamson's from 1900 until 1916, when he joined J. & N. Tait in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

.) In March 1934, a "

physical culture Physical culture, also known as body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US. Origins The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...

demonstration" was performed at the theatre by Weber, Shorthose & Rice. Before or around November 1934, the Waterman family created S.A. Theatres Ltd, a subsidiary of their

Ozone Theatres Ozone Theatres Ltd, formerly Ozone Picture Company and then Ozone Amusements Ltd, was a movie theater, cinema chain based in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1911 until 1951, when it sold its theatres to Hoyts. It was founded by Hugh Waterman and ...

, for the purpose of taking on the lease of the Theatre Royal, and for creating the Chinese Gardens open-air theatre at the Exhibition Grounds on North Terrace Both theatres would show the same

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

films at both venues. Includes photos of Hugh Waterman and all of his sons. During the war years, the Theatre Royal ran an orchestra, in which the mother of QC

Ted Mullighan Edward Picton "Ted" Mullighan, QC (25 March 1939 – 15 September 2011) was an Australian judge who was known as an Indigenous rights advocate and protecting vulnerable people. He was known for his role as Commissioner of the Government of Sou ...

played violin. Tallis died in 1947. Myers' half share was inherited by his widow, Dora Myers, who was still alive when in January 1954 the Tallis estate sold its interest to J. C. Williamson's, which had been leasing the theatre, with the lease expiring in that month. At an auction on 6 May 1955, department store Miller Anderson & Co. bought the Theatre Royal for £175,000 and took over the properties between the Theatre Royal and Gresham Street, and erected a five-storey building. They demolished the theatre in 1962 to build an "exceptionally ugly" multi-level car park.

Notable performers

The many live shows hosted at the Theatre Royal, performers included: * Vivian Leigh *

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

* The Bolshoi Ballet (on its final closing night)

References

{{coord, 34.922889, S, 138.598306, E, format=dms, display=inline,title History of Adelaide Former theatres in South Australia Theatres in Adelaide Demolished buildings and structures in South Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 1962 Cinemas in Adelaide Former cinemas in Australia 1838 establishments in Australia

History

19th century

20th century

Notable performers

See also

References