The Theatre Royal was one of the premier theatres for nearly 80 years in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 1855 to 1932. It was located at what is now 236 Bourke Street, once the heart of the city's theatre and entertainment district. [1]
The first Theatre Royal in Melbourne was a ‘ramshackle affair’ attached to the Eagle Tavern on Bourke Street between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets. It was a utilitarian weatherboard barn-like structure measuring 65 ft. by 35 ft. and cost £1000. [2] Originally known as The Pavilion, and later as the Theatre Royal, it closed in 1845 due to competition from the superior facilities of the newly opened Queen’s Theatre in Queen Street. An early William Liardet watercolour of the tavern and theatre depicts the rough and ready nature of the pioneer settlement. [3]
Ten years later, in 1855, Melbourne's second Theatre Royal was built a block away, on the north side of Bourke Street between Swanston and Russell Streets, by John Melton Black. It was capable of holding 3300 people and was comparable in size to London's Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres. The opening production on 16 July 1855 was Richard Sheridan's The School for Scandal . Described as a "magnificent theatre", the £60,000 cost of the theatre's construction ultimately bankrupted Black. [1] [4] [5]
Barry Sullivan was sole lessee and manager from March 1863 to 16 February 1866, when he played his last night and relinquished management. His lease still had a year to run, and he sublet it to William Hoskins, [6] but it was taken over by a partnership of Richard Stewart (father of Nellie Stewart), [lower-alpha 1] H. R. Harwood, T. S. Bellair, Charles Vincent, John Hennings, and J. C. Lambert, then in 1867 George Coppin joined, and Bellair, Lambert and Vincent dropped out. Coppin bought his partners out, and was sole manager in April 1872 when the theatre burned down. Coppin immediately rebuilt it bigger and better (the new theatre could seat 4,000 people over four tiers), and opened in November the same year, [7] under joint management by Coppin, Stewart, Harwood and Hennings. [8]
It was remodelled in 1904, seating fewer people more comfortably on three tiers, but the growing popularity of the moving pictures in the 1920s affected theatre attendance, and the effects of the Great Depression led to the closure of the theatre in 1932. In 1933 it was finally demolished, and replaced by Manton's department store, later becoming a Coles store, itself redeveloped into a Target store in the 1970s. Kmart now occupies the site [1] [9]
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 tram thoroughfare.
Queen Victoria Village, generally known as QV Melbourne or just QV, is a precinct in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering the city block bounded by Lonsdale, Little Lonsdale, Swanston, and Russell Streets, and located directly opposite the State Library of Victoria and Melbourne Central, QV comprises a large shopping centre, a central plaza, an underground food court, Melbourne central city's first full-size supermarket and apartment buildings.
Nellie Stewart, born Eleanor Stewart Towzey was an Australian actress and singer, known as "Our Nell" and "Sweet Nell".
George Selth Coppin was a comic actor, entrepreneur and politician, active in Australia.
The Comedy Theatre is a 1003-seat theatre in Melbourne's East End Theatre District. It was built in 1928, and was designed in the Spanish style, with a Florentine-style exterior and wrought-iron balconies. It is located at 240 Exhibition Street, and diagonally opposite Her Majesty's Theatre.
The Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne, Australia is home to numerous lanes and arcades. Often called "laneways", these narrow streets and pedestrian paths date mostly from the Victorian era, and are a popular cultural attraction for their cafes, bars and street art.
The East End Theatre District is a precinct within the Melbourne city centre, and is bounded by Spring Street, Flinders Street, Swanston Street, and Lonsdale Street. The district is home to six of Melbourne's major theatres, including the Princess Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, and the Regent Theatre. These theatres mostly house commercial productions of musicals, plays and other events, in contrast with the Southbank Arts Precinct over the Yarra River which focuses on publicly funded companies.
The Theatre Royal on Hindley Street, Adelaide was a significant venue in the history of the stage in South Australia.
The Lorgnette, subtitled "Theatrical Journal and Programme", was a weekly magazine in Melbourne, Australia, devoted to theatre, opera and the concert stage. The magazine was published Saturdays and sold for 2d at the major entertainment venues where it had exclusive rights, and elsewhere.
The Queen's Theatre was a playhouse in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia. Situated on Queen Street, it was Melbourne's first purpose-built venue for staging plays, musicals and opera.
The Haymarket Theatre, or Royal Haymarket Theatre was a live theatre built by George Coppin in the Haymarket district of Melbourne, Australia in 1862 and was destroyed by fire in 1871.
Frederick Charles Appleton was an Australian actor, noted as a Shakespearean character actor, a "painstaking studious aspirant for histrionic honours", praised for his "considerable ability and tact". In 1883 he earned an academic degree and became a university lecturer, an unusual conjugation of careers, shared with H. B. Irving.
Thomas Smith Bellair was an English actor who moved to Australia, where he had his own dramatic company before managing various hotels, finally settling in Wagga Wagga, where his family became prominent citizens.
Richard Stewart was an English stage actor who settled in Australia. He is best remembered as the father of Nellie Stewart.
John Hennings was a theatrical scene painter and theatre manager in Melbourne, Australia.
John Dunn was a comic actor who had a considerable career in Australia.
Robert James Heir was an actor in Australia, best known as the first husband of the great actress Fanny Cathcart.
John Rodger Greville was an Irish-born comic actor, singer, songwriter and stage manager who had a long career in Australia.
Joseph Charles Lambert, generally referred to as J. C. Lambert, was an English comic actor who had a significant career in Australia.
Henry Richard Harwood was an Australian actor and theatre manager.