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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-05 Daily Xml
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ADELAIDE THEATRES

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (14:41): My question is to the Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts. Can the minister inform the house about the 2013 anniversary celebrations relating to both Her Majesty's Theatre and the Adelaide Festival Centre?

The SPEAKER: The Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts, who has already been called to order once today, but go ahead.

The Hon. C.C. FOX (Bright—Minister for Transport Services, Minister Assisting the Minister for the Arts) (14:41): I thank the member for Ramsay for her question. I know that she has a deep and abiding interest in the arts and I am sure that she is participating enthusiastically in the current cultural activities of this month. I had the privilege of launching the Adelaide Festival Centre's 40th anniversary and Her Majesty's Theatre's 100th anniversary last week. It has been 40 years since the Adelaide Festival Centre was built and on the night that it was built Gough Whitlam said to the crowd that was gathered there, 'This building, this magnificent achievement', and his words were correct because the last 40 years have been an extraordinary cultural landmark in this city as a result of that centre.

The anniversaries for both of these places was a wonderful evening, really enjoyable. We also discussed, with some interest, the past of Her Majesty's Theatre. I do not know how many people here are aware, because I do not think anybody here was actually alive in 1913 (although sometimes it feels that they were), that in 1913 when Her Majesty's Theatre opened it was actually much larger. It currently has a false ceiling which holds an enormous part of the theatre which is still there today. So, if you ever have an opportunity to climb into the roof and take a look at it, it is still very Edwardian and very beautiful, an extraordinary thing to celebrate. The person who performed on that inaugural night in 1913 was Lillie Langtry, who was a famous actress in her own right. She was 60 then but still very vibrant.

The Adelaide Festival Centre is doing extremely well these days. Over the past five years the team at the Adelaide Festival Centre has increased its venue use from 55 per cent to 82 per cent, meaning that in the past four years the Adelaide Festival Centre has been solidly in the black. It has been doing an outstanding job. Those people are central to this government's vision of creating communities that are energetic and dynamic places to live, work, play and visit. It is a crucial part of our nation's cultural capital and on that night in 1973 Gough Whitlam was right when he said of that theatre that it would be an inspiration for the whole of Australia.

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