Document Title

A PHOTO ESSAY Author: Ross !orne

Summary/Abstract !e Palace !eatre (of Varieties) was originally built in 1896 for George Adams as an adjunct to his Tatersalls Hotel that had en- trances in both George and Pitt Streets, Sydney. Due to increas- ing restrictions during the 19th century of divorcing theatre en- tertainments from liquor-licensed premises, the Palace had to be completely separated from the hotel. It was a requirement that pa- trons of the theatre had to exit the theatre into a public way before entering premises licensed to serve liquor. !e Palace minimised this obstruction to an alcohol imbued audience by being designed with a narrow pedestrian lane (about two metres wide) between it and the Pitt Street bar of the hotel. Side exits to the theatre stalls allowed patrons to cross the lane directly into the hotel bar for interval fortification and refreshment. !e theatre was tightly designed on three levels by architect, Clarence Backhouse to house popular entertainment known as variety or music hall in Britain, and vaudeville in the USA, hence the name Palace. Englishman, Phil W. Goatcher, who had worked in the USA, was the auditorium interior designer and decorator, creating “elaborate Indian ornamentation of ceiling, proscenium boxes, galleries and dome”, much of it in embossed sheet metal manufactured by Wunderlich Ltd. Goatcher was also lessee for a short time, but did other stage set and decorative work -- even as far afield as Boulder, W.A. where he designed the act-drop curtain for that gold mining town’s Town Hall. At the time of its demolition in 1970, the facade, lobby and stairs, together with the stage, were original. !e auditorium and dress circle foyer had been rebuilt in 1923, the architects being Ballan- tyre and Hare. !e inerior was completely reefed out and two can- tilevered galleries replaced the original multi-post-supported tiers of 1896. !e new style was in the more decorous classical revival. From the time of the Great Depression until after World War II it was used as a cinema After a repaint, Hoyts used it as a venue for a number of Her- bert Wilcox British “society” films (in the late 1940s) that starred his wife Anna Neagle, starting with Piccadilly Incident, then the Courtneys of Curzon Street, Spring in Park Lane and Maytime in Mayfair. It was then taken over for live theatre with shows produced by Sir Benjamin Fuller, the Australian Eliza- bethan !eatre Trust, and other entrepreneurs. A memorable and emotional-draining performance was by Jacqueline Kott and Alexander Hay in the Old Tote !eatre Production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1964). Seating only 775 on three levels (1964 licence list), the audi- torium was an excellent venue for intimate live theatre. Unfor- tunately, the front-of-house, although voluptuously decorated, was exceedingly mean in facilities.

NOTE: Above is a view of the “dome”. It is supported on the many iron posts that rise up from the stalls through the dress circle and gallery culminating in “Gothic” arches to support the dome and roof of the auditorium. Without the decoration the shape of the “Gothic” arches remains the same.

An example that shows this 19th century structural concept in theatre design in better detail, is at the Theatre Royal at Waterford, Ireland. It is the oldest theatre in the country with its auditorium dating from 1874, designed twenty two years before the opening of the Palace Theatre. The Waterford Theatre Royal was restored in 2009 by local architects, Wigham McGrath From an article in Sightline, Vol.33, No.1 (Spring 2010), Journal of the Association of British Theatre Technicians, I have taken the liberty of reproducing a photograph by the architect before restoration. It clearly shows what, for Australia, was an almost unique method of supporting the roof. It also shows a three-level auditorium similar to that which existed in Syd- ney’s Palace Theatre from 1896 to 1923. Above: A view across the entrance Below: A performance on stage in the 1896 auditorium. The decor was lobby from one stair landing to the consistent with the “alhambra‐esque” eastern style used in many late other showing the rich plaster dec‐ 19th century variety theatres in Britain and the USA. oration that was not altered in the 1923 rebiuld of the auditorium.

Below: The spiral cast iron stair‐ case behind the proscenium boxes to give access to the upper boxes from the stalls level. The dress circle foyer was largely a result of the 1923 alterations, since the 1896 toilets were re‐ moved and larger ones added in a slightly different position. However some features such as the stained glass above the doors may have been from 1896.

Below: The square domed ceiling of the air‐lock to one of the toilets

Below right: A detail of the stained glass showing the musical sym‐ bol of the lyre, being consistent with the music hall roots of variety theatres. AboveThe northern wall to the 1923 auditorium, showing the side wall of the (empty) stage, the prosceium box at dress circle level and side wall to the theatre. Note the two exit doors at stalls level, that would exit patrons into the narrow pedestrian alley between the theatre and Adams Tattersalls Hotel next door. The panels on the wall are lined in a damask fabric. Left: The empty stage circa 1968 when these photographs were taken. Below: The north‐eastern rear corner of the back stalls. The ceiling light fittings were installed during an upgrade following World War II when Hoyts changed its cinema policy to British romantic comedy films. Below: Front balustrades to the dress and upper circles of the 1923 rebuilt auditorium. Above: The northern wall to the stalls and dress circle.

Right: The auditorium from the stage. It seated 775 patrons, hav‐ ing a similar capacity to the Thea‐ tre Royal in Hobart, The addition of the larger projection box in the late 1940s had cut off over 100 seats in the upper circle.

Below: A detail of the proscenium arch.

Below right: One of the last shows advertised before closure in 1969 and demolition in 1970. The whole George Adams estate of theatre, hotel in Pitt Street, and office building on George Street, together with the Royal Acade, made way for the Hilton Hotel.