
Originally designed to host live theatre, it was also used extensively for movies from 1914 through to WWII. Brisbane's early theatre companies were also using it at this time for live performances. Here is a 1937 picture of a performance of Madam Butterfly by the Marie Knight Corkran Operatic Society.

During WWII, the Princess Theatre became the headquarters of the US Entertainment Unit, and then after the war it was leased to a number of community organisations. Since then it has had varied uses, being leased such firms as an engineering company, an appliance retailer, a secondhand dealer and a paper manufacturer. It reverted to its original use when the TN! Theatre company acquired a lease in 1985. We are fortunate enough to have the building still with us, and it is still used as a theatre. Here is a link to its web pages, and below is a picture of how it looks today.

Click here for a Google Map.
tff
Next: Queensland's first Supreme Court judge
You have to love blogging :)
ReplyDeleteMy next post, scheduled for 6/6/10, starts "Two of the finest old theatres in Australia ... Theatre Royal in Hobart (1834) and Her Majesty's in Ballarat (1857). While I don't think Brisbane's Princess Theatre is the oldest in Australia or even on the mainland, I do think it has the most elegant exterior.
Well, that is interesting! I have been to the theatre in Hobart and was aware of its claim. I was quoting the information on the web site of Brisbane's Princess Theatre:
ReplyDeletehttp://theprincesstheatre.com/history
I did notice that the information was not repeated on the State governments Heritage Listing:
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/chims/placeDetail.html;jsessionid=7f00000130d707fb0fd6f09d4cacb55188797542cc43.e34NaN8SbNyKci0Lc34Kc3yLch8Le6fznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?siteId=15128
Judging by the dates given by each venue, the Princess Theatre may be overstating its prominence.
Apologies if I have led anyone astray; and thanks for the info Hels!
tff
I read that the Ballarat Her Majesty's theatre is older.
ReplyDelete