Theatres in the Central Business District
2. Lost Theatres
Of the 12 sites researched for this project, six are no longer in service as theatre or cinema venues. Four of these lost sites primarily hosted live theatre and had significant historic and cultural value. All four have either been demolished or converted into other businesses.
2.1 Regent Theatre (101–107 Rundle Mall)
The Regent Theatre was built by J. Reid Tyler and opened on 28 June 1929. It was known as Australia’s “most luxurious theatre” [6], being the largest in the country and originally seating 2299 people.
Upon opening, the first film showing at the Regent Theatre was 1920s MGM silent movie “Flesh and the Devil” [7]. Soon after, the theatre showed its first sound film, American musical “The Jazz Singer”. This marked the beginning of almost four decades of both cinema and live entertainment.
Cedric H. Ballantyne, from Melbourne, originally designed the Regent Theatre in collaboration with J. W. English, George Soward, and H. M. Jackson, all from Adelaide. The theatre’s lavish interior was designed to reflect the glamour of the American film industry from which it made a large percentage of its profit. It featured Moroccan décor, craftsman furniture from the Louis XV period, and Arabesque filigree wall decoration, the remains of which exist to this day. Once described as a “Palace of Art” by The Advertiser [8], the Regent also boasted numerous tapestries, paintings, hand-carved Italian statuary, and classical Greek and medieval murals.
A downsizing of the Regent Theatre took place in 1967–1968 to accommodate a decreasing audience. Additionally, a shopping arcade consisting 38 shops on was constructed over the theatre’s former stalls area in order to attract more business. Following its reopening in May 1968, the theatre seated 894 people, less than half its original capacity.
Prior to this downsizing, the Lions Club of Unley presented a farewell charity show during which the Regent Theatre’s famous Wurlitzer organ was played for the last time ( Au Revoir Regent Goodbye: Souvenir Programme, Lions Club of Unley, South Australia, 1967). The money raised went to a number of organisations, including the Mentally Retarded Children’s Society of S.A. and the Royal Institution for the Blind.
Notably, the Regent Theatre resembled the Sydney theatre of the same name, now too lost. The frontage of the Adelaide Regent was reconstructed on Grenfell Street following the building’s integration into an arcade.
In 2004, the theatre area was closed and incorporated into Regent Arcade.
2.2 Theatre Royal (Hindley Street)
At the foundation ceremony in January 1863, then Mayor of Adelaide H. R. Fuller declared that the Theatre Royal would take the place of the supposedly inferior Royal Victoria as Adelaide’s principle theatre ( H. Angas, Historic Adelaide Theatre Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture Thesis, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1981, p. 74). Thus, the Theatre Royal opened on 20 April 1868 as the city’s second purpose-built theatre, seating 1300 people.
In October 1896, the Theatre Royal was the first venue in South Australia to screen a moving picture [11]. However, the screening apparatus was shortly moved to the Beehive Building, the Royal being deemed an inappropriate venue for movie screenings. Thus, the theatre was used primarily for live performance.
Numerous modifications were carried out on the Theatre Royal over its time. One of these occurred in early 1878 under the proprietorship of Edgar Chapman, who invested £20,000 into a redesign by Melbourne architect George R. Johnson ( “Building Improvements for 1878”. The Register. 1878 March 23, p. 12). Enlarged to fit 3000 people, the three-level interior came at a cost of £5000 alone, with dress circle seats and boxes on both sides being added. Notably, the new interior was the first example in Australia of Victorian theatre design.
Another significant remodelling took place in 1913–14 under the new ownership of J. C. Williamson, who reopened the Theatre Royal on 11 April 1914 and continued management for half a century. Managing director George Tallis commissioned William Pitt for the redesign. Alterations included the building of an arch over the proscenium to improve acoustics and lengthening of the auditorium. Decoration was derived from France’s Louis XV period. The S. A. Register praised the newly extended façade and proclaimed Theatre Royal as one “fitting the Queen City of the South” ( The Register. 1914 March 31, p. 7).
At an auction on 6 May 1955, department store Miller Anderson & Co. bought the Theatre Royal for £175,000 in order to use the land for extensions to their retail store. Being then in a dilapidated condition, the theatre was closed on July 14 and, in 1962, demolished for a car park (The Pictorial Australian. 1892 August, p. 122).
The Theatre Royal enjoyed an array of performing arts, ranging from opera to film to ballet. Famous performers included Vivian Leigh of Gone with the Wind fame and Hollywood leading lady Katharine Hepburn. On closing night the theatre hosted renowned company The Bolshoi Ballet, classical dancing marking the end of its era of entertainment [14].
2.3 Warner Theatre (100 King William Street)
The Warner Theatre had numerous identities over its time (see Table 1). Originally White’s Adelaide Assembly and Concert Room, the building was constructed in 1848 and consisted of a hotel and concert hall commissioned by initial proprietor George White and designed by George Strickland Kingston. On 26 June 1856, White’s Rooms opened with a Grand Masonic Ball. The concert hall, seating 800 people, continued to host formal concerts and dances for over two decades.
In 1880, the site began to be used for theatrical purposes. First, Arthur Garner rented out the venue and transformed it into Garner’s Theatre. Scenic artist George Gordon redesigned the theatre, decorating the interior Jacobin style with hand-painted tracings. The new interior improved on spaciousness, the dress circle fitting 176 people, amphitheatre 400, and pit 500 (The Register. 1880 May 15, p. 1).
In 1889, entrepreneur Tommy Hudson took over management of Garner’s Theatre and, in 1882, renamed it as Hudson’s Bijou. According to the Pictorial Australian (1892 August, p. 122), alterations were carried out in order to make the Bijou more intimate. D. F. Harrison redesigned the interior Victorian style, adding glass chandeliers, statuettes, a proscenium arch, and a bald eagle with the flags of all nations and imperial shields.
In June 1900, Harry Rickards purchased Hudson’s Bijou and reopened it as the Tivoli Theatre. The theatre then operated for a brief time as a cinema, known as the Star Theatre (see 4.2).
On 3 June 1916, Majestic Amusements Ltd reopened the site as the Majestic Theatre. Rebuilding amounted to £18,000 pounds and was carried out over a notably brief 18 weeks. The Standard (1916 May 19, p. 1) reported the removal of the theatre’s gallery and addition of a wide marble staircase leading to the dress circle, both according to the fashion of the time. Additionally, the theatre was fitted with two sliding roofs over the dress circle and front stalls respectively.
In 1950, the Commonwealth Banking Corporation took ownership of the Majestic Theatre. The corporation allowed the site to operate as a theatre for a further three decades.
On 24 November 1967, Celebrity Theatres Pty Ltd. reopened the Majestic Theatre as the Celebrity Theatre Restaurant. Approximately $70,000 was invested into a 10-day rebuilding. Alterations included the removal of many theatre parts, including stall seating and the original orchestra pit in lieu of a new pit. Other additions involved a new stage floor, extension of the basement, and conversion of the Tivoli Rooms into kitchens. Furthermore, the façade was redone with neon signs and a wooden entrance canopy. However, the theatre restaurant lasted only two years, Celebrity Theatres shortly being sued for unpaid debts ( H. Angas, Historic Adelaide Theatre Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture Thesis, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1981, p. 97–98).
In 1969, City Projects Pty Ltd. became the final occupiers of the site. The venue was reopened as the Warner Theatre, named after the film company. It was intended for both live and cinema. However, the latter predominated, the last live show being a brief season of “The Rocky Horror Show” in 1977.
Finally, in March 1979, after announcing the planned demolition of the site for offices and shops, the Commonwealth Banking Corporation closed the Warner Theatre. In response, there was much public demand for the theatre’s conservation. A Majestic Preservation Society was formed in an attempt to save the building, carrying out rallies, petitions, and union bans. However, these protests managed only to delay the demolition. It was claimed that the theatre was a poor example of its kind (M. Burden, Lost Adelaide, Oxford University Press, 1983) and, in January 1981, the Warner was demolished. At this time the theatre was 123 years old, the longest surviving theatre in Adelaide. In 1984, a Commonwealth bank was built on the site.
2.4 King’s Theatre (318 King William Street)
The King’s Theatre was opened in 1911 under the proprietorship of A. E. and F. Tolley. It was built by T. & T. Lewis due to public demand for an entertainment venue in Adelaide utilising modern technology. Williams & Good’s original design of the theatre boasted a large dome and pressed metal ceilings, which were wrongfully believed to be fireproof. The theatre seated 1500 people and hosted a variety of live acts, ranging from comedic acts to sketch artists to pantomime plays and even to boxing matches.
However, following a fire and subsequent remodelling in 1928, the King’s Theatre suffered a decreasing audience for live performance. The theatre was thus rebuilt as two-story building, the lower level being converted into a ballroom known as the King’s Ballroom. A grand opening ball was held in August of that year to mark the reopening. The ballroom continued to operate into the second half of the century. During the 1940s and ’50s dance classes also were hosted to assist finances.
In 1975, another major fire occurred in the building. The King’s Ballroom was then finally transformed into legal offices in the 1980s (L. Harris, “Lost Theatres of Adelaide”, Directed Study in Archaeology Report, Flinders University, 2012, p. 19–20).
3. Existing Theatres
While half of the sites researched for this project are no longer in use as theatres or cinemas, four venues of historic and/or local significance exist to this day.
3.1 Queen’s Theatre (Playhouse Lane)
The Queen’s Theatre is the oldest purpose-built theatre in mainland Australia and has had a long line of occupiers (see Table 2). It is also one of the few remaining buildings in the city originally delineated by George Strickland Kingston in 1842. The theatre was built for former Jewish convicts Vaiben and Emanuel Solomon following Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne in 1840, just three years after the establishment of Adelaide. Such parts as glass and nails were supplied from Sydney, and bricks traded in Adelaide for flour. The theatre was notable for being modelled on many popular London venues of the time, the auditorium being constructed in a Georgian/Regency fashion and considered equal in every respect to English provincial theatres (H. Angas, Historic Adelaide Theatre Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture Thesis, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1981, p. 57–60).
Notably, the Queen’s Theatre struggled not only due to changing economic conditions but also the social conservativeness of the time, the Southern Australian newspaper suggesting at the time that there were better uses for the site [22]. However, despite social criticism the Queen’s opened on Monday 11 January 1841 to a packed audience. Opening night featured Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello”, starring lessee and future Mayor of Adelaide John Lazar. Lazar was a regular performer at the theatre, as well as daughter Rachel (J. Lazar, “Othello”, theatre program, Queen’s Theatre, Adelaide, 1841).
Each theatre programme for the Queen’s Theatre consisted of two to three short performances. Ergo, “Othello” was probably shortened, similar to performances of theatres in England that lacked the license to perform full plays. Types of plays performed varied from farces, e.g. “The Dancing Barber”, to those of early 19th century playwrights such as Edward Fitzball, to melodramas, e.g. “The Wreck Ashore”. As well as plays there were adaptations of poems, e.g. Sir Walter Scott’s “The Lady of the Lake”, patriotic pieces concerning the 1812 war with the Yankees, and operas [24].
Not long after opening, the Queen’s Theatre was met with a recession, one that reducing ticket prices did not improve. In further attempts to keep on top of finances, Lazar used the theatre simultaneously for balls, dinners, and as a costume shop, but to no avail. The theatre was closed in 1842, its last performance on Monday 28 November being the opera “Der Freischutz”, starring Lazar for the last time. Following this closure, the building was used for various types of business, including a tavern, commercial exchange, and law courts.
On 3 April 1843, the South Australian Law Society passed a motion for the Queen’s Theatre to be used for law courts. In-depth negotiations took place between the government and the Solomons, following which the government leased the building for three years at £200 per annum. The agreed alterations were completed by October 1843 and the Magistrate’s and Supreme Courts were established soon after. For the theatre’s transition to law courts, the stage area was converted into the Supreme Court, while the Magistrates Court was built in the saloon and Police Court in the pit. A division between the stage and auditorium was erected for this purpose. Furthermore, the lobbies were adapted into the Police Commissioner and Clerks’ offices; the ladies’ cloak-room became the Sheriff’s; the two green rooms were used as a robing room and a jury cell respectively; and the lower dungeon conveniently became a temporary prison for convicts (H. Angas, Historic Adelaide Theatre Architecture, Bachelor of Architecture Thesis, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1981, p. 60–61).
When entrepreneur George Seth Coppin arrived in South Australia in 1846, the country was beginning to recover from its economic depression. In collaboration with Emanuel Solomon, Coppin enlarged and converted the billiard hall adjoining the tavern into the New Queen’s Theatre. This new theatre continued the fashion of a Georgian/Regency interior, though smaller than the older building, holding 700 in total. John Lazar, previously of Sydney’s Theatre Royal, managed the building from 1848 onwards.
The running of the tavern and the New Queen’s Theatre made for an uneasy coexistence with the law courts. According to J. Bond Phipson, Clerk of the Resident’s Magistrates Court, Judge Cooper was forced on one occasion to request a stop to the billiard playing next door so as not to be disturbed while passing death sentences (History Trust of South Australia, “SA Open Heritage 2006 — Queen’s Theatre”, Government of South Australia, 2006, p. 12).
By the end of June 1850, the law courts had found a new home in Victoria Square. Lazar and Coppin then put into motion their initial plan to reoperate the original theatre and, on 23 December 1850, reopened it as the Royal Victoria Theatre. The original façade was remodelled in a Georgian style, featuring Ionic pillars and the Royal Coat of Arms over its entrance. This façade exists to this day and is significant for being the only example of early Colonial Georgian/Classical Revival Victorian architecture in Adelaide. Carrying on the English tradition, the interior was reconstructed in the style of London’s Princess Theatre, only greater in size and capable of holding up to 1000 people altogether.
A notable artist at the Royal Victoria Theatre was burlesque performer Lola Montes, who performed in the 1850s and was known especially for her “Spider Dance”, so named for its startling use of spiders on stage (“Domestic News: Lola Montes”. Adelaide Times. 1855 November 26, p. 2).
In 1851, Lazar and Coppin were forced to close the theatre for the second time on grounds of a mass city exodus to the Victorian goldfields. After this closure, the venue was used again for commercial exchange and auctions. In 1852, Solomon decided to return to England and so from 1853 to 1859 various small travelling companies ran the theatre intermittently. In addition the venue was used for dinners, balls, and public meetings.
Yet another renovation and reopening took place in September 1859, this time organised by an Alex Henderson. This reopening was followed yet again by a period of closure in 1867, the theatre’s longest closure period.
From 1868 onwards the site was given various uses, including as the City Mission, a horse bazaar, sale yards, a warehouse, and even a store unit for World War II (History Trust of South Australia, “SA Open Heritage 2006 — Queen’s Theatre”, Government of South Australia, 2006, p. 21–29). Over the years, more alterations were made to the site depending on its occupancy, including the removal of many parts of the original theatre.
Around 1990, Austral Archaeology carried out an excavation at the site. The excavation revealed significant below-ground remains, including the foundations of the main walls in the original Queen’s Theatre and the dividing wall erected between the stage and auditorium for the law courts. Numerous artefacts also were retrieved, including jewellery, makeup, costume accessories, and tavern bottles.
Finally, in 1996, the government’s S. A. Heritage division took control of the Queen’s Theatre. Over $700 000 of maintenance work was carried out on the building, including salt damp treatment, installation of toilet facilities, fitting of a security system, fencing, erection of new doors, and re-roofing. Under the ownership of the Minister for Environment and Heritage, the theatre was reopened for the 1996 Adelaide Festival of Arts.
Upon this reopening, the Queen’s Theatre hosted a performance of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” by the Australian Opera [29]. This marked a renewal of theatrical performance at the theatre, including the State Theatre’s performance of “Natural Life” for the 1998 Adelaide Festival and the Junction Theatre Company’s rendition of musical “Scam”. Currently, the theatre is also used for student exhibitions, launches, cultural festivals, and such other events as weddings and dinners.
In 1999–2000, an interpretive display was installed, funded by Heritage S. A. The display was launched by the Minister with the purpose of acknowledging the history and cultural significance of the theatre for public access.
The Queen’s Theatre is currently a state heritage site under the patronage of the History Trust [30]. Remains of the original theatre exist to this day, in particular a stone marked “ES 1840” currently housed at the National Library in Canberra.
3.2 Opera Theatre (58 Grote Street)
Like the Warner and Queen’s Theatres, the Opera Theatre has been known by several names (see Table 3). The site was originally an open paddock with a stream, used for cart parking and horse-feeding by market gardeners and stall-holders. In 1912, under the proprietorship of Sayers and Lennon, the venue was built and named the Princess Theatre.
Shortly after, Harry Rickards of Harry Rickards Tivoli Theatres became lessee and changed the name to the New Tivoli Theatre, an offshoot of the original Tivoli on King William. In early September 1913, then Mayor of Adelaide Lavington Bonython carried out the formal opening ceremony. Live performances began the following night.
According to The Advertiser ( 1913 September 5, p. 19) the New Tivoli was “one of the largest and finest” in Australia. Built at a cost of £31,000, the theatre was an Italian-style building and consisted of four storeys. Arches divided the main entrance into three sections, leading to stalls on each far side. The theatre could seat over 2000 people, 238 of these being in the wide tiers of the dress circle, 622 in the stalls, and 1300 in the gallery. Notably, the stage alone was said to be roughly the size of King William’s Tivoli Theatre.
Following a visit by the Prince of Wales about a decade after opening, the New Tivoli Theatre was briefly renamed the Prince of Wales Theatre.
In 1954, the New Tivoli Theatre came under the control of J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd, one of the oldest theatrical organisations in the world. J.C. Williamson then rebuilt the theatre at a rough cost of £300 000. The last performance at the theatre prior to J. C. Williamson’s alterations was a season of Australian musical comedy “The Sentimental Bloke” for the 1962 Adelaide Festival of Arts. At this time the building was reportedly so dilapidated that frequent flooding of the underside of the stage occurred. On 6 November 1962, the renamed Her Majesty’s Theatre was reopened by then Premier of South Australia, Sir Thomas Playford. J. C. Williamson Theatres themselves performed a revised version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” to mark the reopening [32].
According to The Advertiser ( 1962 November 6, p. 26), the only remains of the original theatre comprised of its brick walls. Alterations included the removal of the gallery to enhance “intimacy”, reducing seating capacity to approximately 1200. Additionally, the orchestra pit was extended to hold 75 musicians and panels built over it to improve acoustics. Up-to-date air-conditioning also was installed. The auditorium was redone with modern plastic and anodised aluminium décor and the building’s external walls repainted in grey. A tasselled act-drop made of old gold velvet was imported from England.
After negotiations with J. C. Williamson, in November 1976, the State Government bought Her Majesty’s Theatre for $440000. Premier Don Dunstan announced the theatre was to be used for the State Opera of South Australia [34]. Thus, the venue was renamed the Opera Theatre and opened on 12 March 1979 with Johann Strauss’s operetta “Die Fledermaus”, performed by the State Opera themselves. Alterations for the Opera Theatre involved redecoration of the foyers and auditorium 1920s style, with a burgundy and cream colour scheme throughout. Additionally, the auditorium walls were covered with materials to improve acoustics. Private boxes at the ends of the dress circle were added, while the two front rows of the dress circle were removed for improved viewing. Again, up-to-date air-conditioning was installed.
Besides musical performance, the Opera Theatre is currently known for hosting other forms of live entertainment, particularly comedic sketches.
3.3 Festival Centre (King William Street)
Calls for a festival hall for Adelaide can be traced back to 1861, when The Advertiser remarked that “there ought to be a theatre added to the handsome pile of buildings now erected on North Terrace”.
Yet, it wasn’t until 1958 that the government made any move on the matter. Sir Arthur Rymill first presented the idea for a Festival Theatre to the Legislative Council, with little support. Two years later, he established a campaign on grounds of a need for a performance venue for the Adelaide Festival. Rymill argued that this theatre would “confirm” Adelaide’s worldwide standing “as the festival city of Australia” (“Adelaide Festival Centre: Conservation Management Plan”, Woodhead International, South Australia, 1999, p. 10). Sir James Irwin was also an enthusiastic advocate, establishing a Lord Mayor’s Cultural Committee for the Festival Theatre. Members of this Committee included Sir Ewen Waterman and Town Clerk R. W. Arland.
Finally, the government agreed to fund a Festival Centre on the condition that the Adelaide City Council and public subscription raise part of the expense. This money being successfully raised, construction of the Festival Theatre began in March 1970. A year later, significant enlargements to the theatre were carried out. Led by Premier Don Dunstan, the Labor Government altered the Festival Centre to include three smaller auditoriums: the Playhouse, Space, and Amphitheatre. Additionally, an underground car park and plaza were built.
Around this time, a Festival Centre Trust was established, put together by the State Government and City Council. Artistic Director of the Festival Arts Anthony Steel was the first General Manager. Under his management the Trust became the third largest magnate in Australia.
In June 1973, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam opened the completed Festival Centre. It has been one of Adelaide’s most significant performance venues since. Notably, as Sir Rymill intended, the theatre is the official home to Adelaide’s Biennial Festival of Arts.
With its modern look, the Festival Theatre is a notable contrast to the classical buildings surrounding it on King William Street and its range of performance spaces and architectural styles gives way to a huge variety of live acts. The box-shaped Space Theatre holds 350 people and is used mostly for small-scale drama productions. Meanwhile, the Dunstan Playhouse too is an intimate space, seating 590 people on two levels. The Amphitheatre is intricately connected to the upper and lower levels of the complex and seats up to 800 on its stone aggregate tiers, ideal for holding musical concerts. Not least, the main Festival Theatre seats approximately 2000 people on three levels. When lifted to stall level, the main pit can hold up to 100 orchestral players and a choir of 200. Of particular note to performance equipment is the Austrian-made Silver Jubilee Organ kept in the wings.
The Festival Centre is notable also for its various outside sculptures. One such are the stainless silver pyramids designed by local artist Bert Flugelman. Another, more controversial, is the group of red and blue geometric sculptures located on the upper level plaza, designed by German artist O. H. Hajek.
5.1 Royalist Associations
The prevalence of royalist names of theatres in Adelaide indicates Australia’s close association with England post-colonisation. An example is the Queen’s Theatre, later known as the Royal Victoria, both named for Queen Victoria, who ascended to the throne in 1840. Another is the Opera Theatre, first named the Princess Theatre perhaps after the theatre in London of the same name. Yet another is the New Tivoli Theatre, the name of which was briefly changed to the Prince of Wales in the early 1900s following a visit from said Prince of Wales. Others include the Theatre Royal, Her Majesty’s Theatre, the Majestic Theatre, and the King’s Theatre, all probably named to reinforce the influence of the British monarchy.
5.2 Architecture
Research shows that the first theatres in South Australia in the early 19th century were constructed in the Georgian/Regency style, particularly the Queen’s Theatre and all the derivations thereof. This Georgian/Regency period established the segregation of social classes with separate seating areas in theatres, a principle that can be seen even today with the Adelaide Festival Centre [55]. Popular materials in the 1800s included timber, brick, stone, iron, and concrete. Indicating the operation of such materials at this time, the bricks that were used to build the Queen’s Theatre were originally traded for flour.
From the late 19th to early 20th century, other influences made their mark on the appearance of theatres, including that of French and Italian fashions, e.g. the New Tivoli Theatre, the Regent Theatre, and Theatre Royal. While furnishings and decoration of the Louis XV period were seen in the latter two, the first was known for its Italian-style decoration work on the façade.
In the early 20th century, the prevalence of proscenium arches, e.g. the remodelling of the Theatre Royal in 1913–14, came about due to safety legislation dictating that the stage in a theatre must be separated from the auditorium [56]. Proscenium arches “framed” the stage activity and thus established a clear boundary between the performers and audience, an effect that was maintained with the rise of cinema and television.
Over the 20th century, a change to the popular design of theatres came about with the reduction of separate seating areas to promote intimacy, e.g. the Majestic, Her Majesty’s, and the Opera Theatre. Integration of seating parts in theatres arguably reflected the decreasing relevance of Victorian hierarchies. This progression can be noted today in such new venues as the Space Theatre.
5.3 Decline of CBD Theatre Activity
Regrettably, over the second half of the 20th century and early 21st, six of the selected sites were either demolished or converted as spaces for other types of business or events (see Figures 1 and 2).
Interestingly, a decline can be seen not only in the number of active theatres but also that of cinemas in the CBD. Two factors may be attributed to this downfall. Firstly, the demographic and uses of the area have recently shifted to being adult-dominated and having a retail focus (Adelaide City Council, City User Population Research 2012–2013, report, ACC). Exemplifying this shift is the Metro Theatre/Cinema, which experienced popularity as a cinema for about five decades, only to be closed in 1991 and used as a nightclub of ill repute. Secondly, the construction and increasing popularity of suburban cinemas in recent times have perhaps banished the need for consumers to travel to the CBD for film showings ( R. Maltby, D. Biltereyst, P. Meers, Exploration in New Cinema History: Approaches and Case Studies, John Wiley & Sons, 2001).
For these reasons, promotion of existing theatre and cinema sites in the CBD is necessary so that they may continue to thrive. While recommendations to increase theatre activity itself is outside the scope of this project, it is hoped that the National Trust’s online documentation of sites will raise public awareness of Adelaide’s undervalued history of performing arts.
