Her Majesty's Theatre is a 1,700-seat

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

in Melbourne's

East End Theatre District The East End Theatre District is a precinct within the Melbourne central business district, and is bounded by Spring Street, Flinders Street, Swanston Street and Lonsdale Street. The district is home to seven major theatres, including the Princ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Built in 1886, it is located at 219 Exhibition Street,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. It is classified by the National Trust of Australia and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Purchased in 2000 by Mike Walsh, the theatre was restored and refitted to accommodate larger productions.

History

The first recorded use of the area near the corner of Stephen (now known as Exhibition) Street and Little Bourke Street as a venue for entertainment was in 1880, when tiered seating was constructed and an openair venue for circuses and equestrian shows established. The Hippodrome lasted four years before the French born entrepreneur, Jules François de Sales Joubert, secured a 30-year lease on the site and commissioned architect

Nahum Barnet Nahum Barnet (16 August 1855 – 1 September 1931) was an architect working in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. Barnet was born in the Melbourne Hospital on Swanston Street, the son of a Polish-born ...

to design a theatre, business and accommodation complex. In 1886, work on Joubert's project was completed. On 1 October, the Alexandra Theatre opened. Named after the then Princess of Wales, wife of the future

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

, the theatre was the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, boasting a capacity of 2,800. The very first show staged was the comedy, ''Bad Lads''. Also in the first year, the Australian classic, '' For the Term of His Natural Life'', was performed, as was Saturday afternoon wrestling and a season of Italian opera. The early days of the "Alec" (as it became known) were problematic. Joubert had spent almost twice his original budget on construction and had been unable to obtain the required operating licences for the hotel, bars and cafes of the complex. By November 1887, he was insolvent. Early in 1888, the renowned actor and playwright, Alfred Dampier, leased the theatre and introduced a successful programming and pricing formula. The "Alec" prospered. In 1900, well-known expatriate American theatrical producer, James Cassius Williamson, took over the lease of the theatre and engaged architect William Pitt to supervise renovations. The stage was lowered by 60 centimetres and the stalls and orchestra pit raised by almost 30 centimetres. The Dress Circle was remodelled and new boxes added. Seats were re-upholstered, re-painting carried out and a new stage curtain and new stage lighting installed. The theatre, re-vamped and re-christened Her Majesty's Theatre in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

, re-opened with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s ''HMS Pinafore'' on 19 May. In 1909, after a private sound test, Dame Nellie Melba, by then an international star, declared that the theatre’s acoustics were "dead" and that she would not perform unless they were altered. Further renovations to the theatre's interior were carried out in time for Dame Nellie to hold her Australian opera debut in November 1911. On 6 July 1913, J. C. Williamson – the biggest theatrical entrepreneur in the world at the time – died at the age of 68. As a mark of respect, all the Williamson theatres ‘were dark’ for one night, a rare tribute. The company he had established with Her Majesty's Theatre as its flagship however, continued to prosper, featuring the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan as staple fare well into the 1920s. The name change from the Alexandra to Her Majesty's Theatre occurred eight months before the death of Queen Victoria. The theatre management maintained the name despite there now being a King on the throne. In 1924, the theatre was renamed again as His Majesty's Theatre, this time in honour of King George V, after whose mother, the original theatre had been named. It would revert to "Her Majesty's" in May 1953, in time for the coronation of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

. Despite the changes in identity, the theatre consistently played host to the world's best artists and shows. The legendary

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n ballerina,

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

, captivated Australian crowds at performances in 1926 and 1929.

Previous productions

Previous notable productions at Her Majesty's include:

References

External links

* {{Authority control Theatres in Melbourne Buildings and structures in Melbourne City Centre Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne 1886 establishments in Australia Art Deco architecture in Melbourne Landmarks in Melbourne