The Tivoli Theatre was an important venue in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

East End Theatre District The East End Theatre District is a precinct within the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is bounded by Spring, Flinders, Swanston and Lonsdale Streets. The district is home to eight theatres, including the ...

, located at 249

Bourke Street Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

near Swanston Street. The first theatre on the site opened in 1866, rebuilt in 1872 as the Prince of Wales Opera House, rebuilt again in 1901 as the New Opera House, and renamed the Tivoli in 1914 when it joined the

Tivoli circuit The Tivoli Circuit was a successful and popular Australian vaudeville entertainment circuit featuring revue, opera, ballet, dance, singing, musical comedy, old time black and white minstrel and even Shakespeare which flourished from 1893 to th ...

. The theatre closed in 1966.

Early years

Following the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capi ...

, Melbourne became a sizable thriving city, and the area of Bourke Street near Swanston developed as the theatre and entertainment precinct. One such venue was the Australia Hall, a small

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

theatre built above livery stables. It opened on 2 November 1866, described as "of the exceedingly unpicturesque order of architecture." It was eventually redecorated and rechristened several times, before burning down in 1869. Three years later, in 1872, a new theatre was erected on the site by Henry Hoyt (omnibus and tramway pioneer), designed by George H. Johnson. Opening on 24 August, the Prince of Wales Opera House was a large, four–level auditorium seating 2,500 patrons. Its first lessee was opera impresario

William Saurin Lyster William Saurin Lyster (21 March 1828 – 27 November 1880), often referred to as W. Saurin Lyster, was an impresario, active in Australia. Early life Lyster was born in Dublin, Ireland, the third son of Chaworth Lyster, a captain in the army, ...

Harry Rickards

In 1893, British

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

Harry Rickards Harry Rickards (4 December 1843 – 13 October 1911), born Henry Benjamin Leete, was an English-born baritone, comedian and theatre owner, most active in vaudeville and stage, first in his native England and then Australia after emigrating in 18 ...

bought the Garrick Theatre in Sydney, which he renamed the Tivoli, and presented music hall style entertainments. In 1895, he expanded into Melbourne, taking on the lease of the Opera House, establishing the beginnings of the

. He became known for importing international talent such as

Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...

Ada Reeve Ada Reeve (born Adelaide Mary Reeves, 3 March 1874 – 5 October 1966) was an English actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime and music hall as a child. She gained fame in Edwardian musical comedies in the 1890s. Re ...

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...

and

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a ...

New Opera House

At the turn of the century, safety concerns forced the closure and eventual demolition of the Opera House. Rickards commissioned the Melbourne architect William Pitt to design a replacement, and the New Opera House opened in May 1901 with a bill headed by British comedian Marie Lloyd. Designed in a broadly Edwardian style, with tall arches and red brick and cement render detailing, it included keyhole arches of the rarely used exotic

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

style, and featured a landmark illuminated globe on the roof. The auditorium, over three levels, featured more elaborate Moorish style decoration. Rickards died in London in 1911, leaving a circuit that had expanded into theatres in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, which was Australia's major presenter of vaudeville. The New Opera House, as well as the Tivoli business, was sold to boxing entrepreneur Hugh D. McIntosh. In 1914, in line with the other venues on the circuit, the New Opera House was renamed the Tivoli.

Tivoli, the home of variety

For the next half-century, the Tivoli was Melbourne's home of variety, presenting both local and international performers, including

Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her ye ...

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was a Russian-born American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popula ...

Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by Cultural history, cultural historian Matthew Sweet (writer), Matthew Sweet as "a cocky ...

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs ...

, and

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...

. French dancer and model of the first

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, appeared from 1948 to 1958 in a number of revues. By the 1950s the Tivoli circuit was famous for its scantily-clad

chorus girls ''Chorus Girls'' was a 1981 musical written by The Kinks lead singer and songwriter Ray Davies, who collaborated with ''The Long Good Friday'' screenwriter Barrie Keeffe.Kitts, Thomas M.. Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else'. N.p., Taylor & ...

, who were colloquially known as "Tivoli tappers". In 1956tThe Tivoli in Melbourne was refurbished in a padded streamlined style, During the 1950s and early ’60s there were also various pantomime matinees in the summer holidays, featuring puppets, acrobats and comic performers such as

John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his care ...

Johnny Lockwood John Sidney Lockwood (7 December 192025 April 2013) was a British variety entertainer, comedian and actor, who also became notable in Australia after emigrating to that country. Lockwood born in West Ham, Essex (now East London) and worked in ...

Barbara Angell Barbara Angell (born 6 March 1935), also known as a performer as Barb Angell, Barbara Angela Angell, Barbara Angel and as a screenwriter Angela Barr, was Australia's first female television comedy writer-entertainer. She has also worked interna ...

and Max Reddy (often as the

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

). Regular television broadcasting in Melbourne began with the opening night of Channel 7 in July 1956, which included a 45-minute variety program relayed from the Tivoli stage, featuring

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

Closure

The impact of television soon saw numbers at cinemas and theatres begin to dwindle. The Tivoli circuit was hit especially hard, since many of its most popular variety performance acts, singers and comedians, such as

Syd Heylen Harold Sydney Charles Heylen (25 May 1923 – 4 December 1996), credited variously as Syd Heylen, Sid Heylen and Sydney Heylen, was an Australian character actor of radio, stage, television and film, comedian, and variety performer and soldi ...

, Joff Ellen,

Happy Hammond Harry Montague Hammond (7 May 1917 – 1 April 1998), professionally known as Happy Hammond, was an Australian comedian, radio host, children's television show host, and television producer. Biography and broadcasting career Happy Hammond was ...

and Buster Fiddess, had abandoned live theatre to concentrate on the new medium. In March 1966 the

Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor of stage, radio, television and film, known for his roles as Pa Glum in '' Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ' ...

touring show brought the era of live variety to an end. The Tivoli Theatre Melbourne closed on the evening of 2 April 1966, with the proceedings telecast nationally.

"I don't relish the distinction of being the man who closed the Tiv. Music hall's dead in Britain. Now this one's dead, there's nowhere to go. I'll either become a character comedian or a pauper." — Jimmy Edwards final curtain-closing speech, 2 April 1966

The theatre survived as a cinema for another few months, before being gutted by fire. The building was demolished to make way for new offices, shops, and an arcade bearing the name, which in the late 60s hosted

Hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

and counterculture stalls for a time.

Legacy

The legacy of the Tivoli continues through a generation of performers who 'cut their teeth' on the Tivoli stage; and through Melbourne's theatre restaurants which were born from the Tivoli tradition. Tivoli-style performances continued for a time at the Lido nightclub, and at Tikki and John's.

References

{{coord, -37.813627, 144.966602, display=title Former theatres in Melbourne Demolished buildings and structures in Melbourne Opera houses in Australia