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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-22 Daily Xml
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Her Majesty's Theatre

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (17:46): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the contribution of Her Majesty's Theatre venue to the Australian and South Australian arts and the community;

2. Recognises the theatre's history, tradition and irreplaceable heritage value to this state and nationally;

3. Congratulates the Adelaide Festival Centre, Cox Architecture, Hansen Yuncken and the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure on the stunning $66 million redevelopment of the theatre; and

4. Wishes Her Majesty's Theatre a long and prosperous future as an iconic theatrical venue.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this motion to celebrate the latest reincarnation of one of our state's—in fact, the nation's—artistic treasures, Her Majesty's Theatre on Grote Street. The theatre has just undergone a $66.2 million transformation and it is simply, to borrow from its name, majestic, making it one of the finest venues of its kind in the country and indeed the world.

It is a Shakespearean-esque tragedy that it is yet to be formally opened and host a sellout audience because of the intrusion of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Performances by the State Opera and other musical theatre events have had to be put on ice for now. However, I am certain that any artist or ensemble who plays there once things return to normal will agree with my assessment: the facilities and the comfort for audiences and performers are second to none.

In June, I was given a tour of the newly completed theatre by excited and enthusiastic Adelaide festival theatre staff, including one of my former Channel 7 colleagues, Francesca Belperio. It was built in 1913 and is the last remaining vestige of the famous chain of Tivoli theatres. In those days, there were 2,170 seats, with 1,300 patrons having to sit on wooden benches—bums on seats risked getting splinters. There were three toilets: two for ladies and one for men.

Her Majesty's has had several name changes, from the Tivoli in 1913 to 1920 to the Prince of Wales Theatre until 1930. It then reverted to the Tivoli for the following 32 years, from 1930 to 1962. Then, for the first time, it became known as Her Majesty's Theatre until 1977. It was privately owned by the Waterman family over a period and was called The Opera Theatre from 1977 to 1988 because it was the home of the State Opera Company, and then it went back to Her Majesty's.

It has experienced crude transformations in the past which not only robbed the theatre of almost half of its original seats but its stylish architecture. Thanks to the vision of Adelaide Festival Centre CEO and Artistic Director, Douglas Gautier AM, the bold project to reinvigorate Her Majesty's back to the status it once commanded began in June 2018. The $66.2 million is money well spent, and kudos to the previous Labor government and the current Liberal government for their support for the project.

The redevelopment was designed by Adelaide-based COX Architecture with credit to architects and interior designers Adam Hannon and Zoe King. It was built by national construction company Hansen Yuncken, managed by the South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, and the Adelaide Festival Centre. The project employed more than 150 construction workers at its peak and engaged a 90 per cent South Australian workforce, including specialist artisan contractors and local craftspeople.

While the building's heritage facade and eastern wall have been preserved, there is the stunning addition of the glass-fronted west wing. The theatre now features a 1,467-seat auditorium over three levels, with the Grand Circle returning for the first time in more than 50 years. As members in this place will discover when they get the opportunity to experience it, the attention to detail is captivating and most impressive.

I was extremely impressed by the fastidious workmanship applied, from the backstage to the luxurious and spacious royal red seating where there is an air conditioning vent under each one, the reintroduction of Edwardian touches like the impressive pressed metal ceiling, elegant architraves and mouldings. A standout is the stunning custom-built wood finish in the fittings, the curved railings of the balconies and two magnificent sweeping staircases in the main foyer area which required custom moulding, and painstaking patience and skill to achieve the breathtaking result.

There is a roof garden and an exhibition space for the Performing Arts Collection of South Australia. Backstage areas are extremely spacious and include a spacious mirrored and timber-floored rehearsal room. There is also a touch of showbiz superstition. You will not find the number 13 on any of the lush dressing rooms that will cater for even the most demanding star. The increased capacity, combined with more expensive backstage facilities, will allow Her Majesty's Theatre to host at least 50 extra performances a year and attract some of Australia's most popular touring shows and musicals.

The roll of honour, who have graced its stage, oozes showbiz royalty, both Australian and from far and wide abroad. If only those walls could speak, the stories they could tell would be rich in content and candour. In fact, one wall does speak in a way. There is the famous signature besser brick wall that was disassembled over nine days from its original position and then repositioned brick by brick backstage. It contains signatures and messages scrawled by so many who trod the boards there. They will bring smiles, laughs and even some blushes.

Allow me to read one or two that I noted down on my visit. Barry Humphries, who wowed and charmed Adelaide's blue rinse set as the sparkling tinsel-dressed and gladiolus-chucking Dame Edna Everage on 20 November 1993, wrote:

Look at me when I'm back on the wall! Fond memories of three decades.

There was also this tongue-in-cheek note:

27 January 1913. The first farewell tour. Best audiences and crew ever.

Barry is in his fifth decade and hopefully we might see a return of that farewell tour. In fact, I could not think of a better person to officially open the new theatre than Barry Humphries or his alter ego Dame Edna, but certainly not that gregarious lecher Sir Les Patterson. There was this quote from American star actor and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg: 'When I get back we'll all have a bickie or two and watch Dynasty.' That was a reference to the hit TV show at the time she was there.

There is a gentle tickle of the ribs from two of the biggest British TV stars of the seventies: tough guy Edward Woodward from TV's Callan and The Equalizer fame, and Michelle Dotrice from the hit comedy Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. They appeared in one of the most popular stage shows staged there, The Male of the Species, in 1975, which I was fortunate enough to see. Michelle boasts about getting top billing ahead of Woodward, who then wrote, 'Lang may yer lums reek'. I hope I have got that right. It literally means, 'Long may your chimney smoke,' and is a traditional Scot's wish for a long life and prosperity used primarily as a toast when drinking or as a farewell.

The gossipmongers on the British tabloids had a field day with their relationship at the time, and Her Majesty's most likely accelerated the romantic spark that led to their eventual marriage, lasting 22 years until, sadly, Edward's death in 2009. Edward Woodward loved Adelaide's art culture. I interviewed him when he returned in 1979 to work on Bruce Beresford's acclaimed and Oscar-nominated SA Film Corporation production Breaker Morant, where this time he could boast top billing in the title role.

The foyer and bar areas are a dizzy walk of fame. Tiles inlaid with gold plates engraved with the galaxy of stars who have been there, plus one other: a stagehand called William Fischer, who had the grave misfortune of falling to his death onto the stage on opening night of 5 September 1913. Talk about breaking a leg on the glitzy opening night! Theatre folklore has it that Bill's ghost may still be heard rattling through the place.

Gazing at the tiles brought back so many memories for me that I had forgotten just how many shows I had the pleasure of seeing there. One of my first shows was the acclaimed flamenco guitarist Paco Pena and the last was an episode of the ABC's Q+A that was recorded there in 2017. Allow me to give a short roll call that covers a variety of artistic fields that you will see on those plaques. We can start with W.C. Fields. He may not be as well known to today's millennials but he was a huge early Hollywood star playing opposite that blonde femme fatale Mae West. But in 1914, at the start of World War I, he made his way here as a vaudevillian juggler and comedian.

Other names include Sir Robert Helpmann, Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland, Rudolf Nureyev, Roy 'Mo MacCackie' Rene, Slim Dusty, Bill Haley and His Comets, Dame Judi Dench, Marcel Marceau, Sir Michael Redgrave, Sir Keith Michell, Dame Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Dionne Warwick, Nancye Hayes, Googie Withers, Kamahl, Jimmy Barnes, Dave Allen, Warren Mitchell, Spike Milligan, Guy Sebastian, Lauren Bacall, Glenn Shorrock, Rowan Atkinson and Garry McDonald. Even Sir Donald Bradman and acclaimed aviation pioneers Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith were feted there. I could go on of course.

Sitting suspended from 17:59 to 19:45.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Before the dinner break, I was going through the great names that have performed at Her Majesty's Theatre. I wanted to make special mention of three local identities who have always kept the flame burning at Her Majesty's Theatre. The late Dame Ruby Litchfield, who was the first woman appointed to the board of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, was a leading light in the community.

There is Adelaide vaudeville legend Phyl Skinner who, I am told, is actually the last surviving Australian vaudevillian. She turns 99 in September and is apparently threatening to make a comeback to the stage that she has graced more than any other artist. I am sure that if she did do that and it happens, and I hope it does, it would bring a tear to the eye of anyone who will be there that night.

I also mention ABC radio host and a thespian himself, Peter Goers, who is a strident supporter of the venue, which he lovingly calls the 'miracle of Grote Street'. Amen and women. Peter is a beacon for our vibrant arts community.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: A living legend.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Absolutely. There is a sense of deja vu or history repeating itself with the current COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns that have prevented the theatre from operating at full capacity. It has impacted greatly on those working in the arts community. During the Great Depression years from 1929 to the mid-1930s, theatres were closed right around the nation. Not only did they have the battle of people with no money and more than 30 per cent unemployment but the state government at the time, in their wisdom and attempting to survive, put an entertainment tax on tickets, which also did not help, nor would it have gone down well. Let's hope the current situation does not last as long.

Performances with restricted seating arrangements will recommence with the State Theatre Company's season of Gaslight from 4 to 19 September, with more shows to be announced soon. In the meantime, Her Majesty's Theatre is ushering in a new era with guided Curtain Up public tours that I am sure will be well received. Soon I would envisage that Her Majesty's will be a priority induction into the Adelaide Music Collective's South Australian Music Hall of Fame. I commend the motion to honourable members.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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