HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE
Since opening on Christmas Eve in 1904, His Majesty’s Theatre has become one of Western Australia’s most-loved heritage icons.
A stunning example of Edwardian era architecture, the building is the design masterpiece of architect William Wolfe and contractor Gustav Liebe, who constructed the theatre for Perth businessman and one-time Lord Mayor of Perth, Thomas G Molloy.
Built during the Gold Rush boom of the early 20th Century at a cost of 42,000 pounds, His Majesty’s Theatre and its adjoining hotel took around two years to complete.
Borrowing architectural elements from the 19th Century theatres of England and Europe, this magnificent creation was described in the theatre’s opening night programme as “among the finest of its kind in the Commonwealth”.
One of the theatre’s most impressive features at the time was the dome roof, which was designed to improve ventilation in the auditorium. The dome slid open sideways so that on a typically warm summer evening, the audience could benefit from the cooling effects of the open roof.
His Majesty’s Theatre was named after the reigning British monarch of 1904, King Edward VII. It is believed to be the only remaining working Edwardian theatre in Australia, and is one of only two remaining His Majesty’s Theatre’s in the world.
Refurbishment of His Majesty’s Theatre 1978-1980
From 1904 to the late 1970’s, His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth was privately owned by a succession of entrepreneurs.
When the Western Australian government purchased the building in 1977, the Theatre was in much need of major structural improvements. It took two years and over $11 million to refurbish and restore the building to the modern, yet aesthetically traditional facility it is today.
During the refurbishment, the magnificent marble staircase was carefully relocated from the stalls entrance to the western end of the stalls foyer, and the dome roof, which once opened to improve ventilation within the auditorium, was permanently sealed.
HIS MAJESTY’S THEATRE.
A MODERN PLAYHOUSE. DETAILED DESCRIPTION.
West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 – 1954), Tuesday 8 March 1904, page 7
From the earliest times the history of the theatre has been concomitant with the history of civilisation, and like civilisation, of which it has become to be regarded as a dissociable institution, the theatre has undergone complete change in some of its most salient features. Whereas in ancient Rome the galleries of entertainment were carved out of the virgin rock of a natural basin on the earth’s surface, later-day conditions have demanded the erection of playhouses de-signed and wrought in contour, as well as in detail. by human hand. To some extent a people’s standard may be judged from their theatres. An institution dependent on public patronage naturally strives to represent the public taste. But it is not a wholly reliable index. Population is a condition precedent to the existence of fine theatres. Having regard to the comparative smallness of our numbers, Perth might occupy an insignificant position among the show towns of Australia, were it not for the enterprise of Mr. T. G. Molloy. whose magnificent new theatre will shortly be out of the “stocks.” When completed, His Majesty’s will rank as one of the finest edifices of its kind in the Common-wealth, and one worthy to accommodate the best talent in the world.
Situated at the corner of Hay and King streets, the theatre and hotel combined cover an area of about two-thirds of an acre-solid masonry, running up to a height of over a hundred feet from base to summit. The building has a frontage of 14 feet to Hay-street, and 185 feet to King-street. The four storeys and basement have a total capacity of nearly two million and a quarter cubic feet, so that allowing the maximum air space required by hygienic authorities (500 foot for each person), the premises might House a Whole Town of three or four thousand people. About twelve thousand tons of bricks have gone into its construction. The building will cost about £42,000, exclusive of the land upon which it stands.
Viewed from outside, the most striking impression is the compact solidarity of the structure. The massive grey walls are relieved with long rows of balconies and deep-set windows, and are set off with ornamental cement modelling of great variety of design. The architecture is of the Italian school. Two tiers of balconies, carried out in the Doric order, run around the whole front, while the windows on the top floor have annexed to them balconettes, which form a happy blend with the rest of the facade. Roman columns, piers, and pilasters sup-port the outside fabric. The main pediment bears the Royal crest, while the minor pediments, which are set in a series of segment arches, are surmounted by the models of six lions. The figures are one and a quarter life-size, and silhouetted against the sky, they display the main features of the modeller’s art, despite the great height at which they are placed. The greater part of the exterior ornamentation is on the upper portion of the building, where, owing to the narrowness of the street, some of the richest detail is liable to escape the notice of the passer-by.
Entering from Hay-street, and going up by the lift, one finds oneself on a plateau 100 feet by 26, which overlooks the city. The promenade affords a sort of bird’s-eye view of some of the business part of Perth, while on the south and east the landscape stretches away across Melville Water and Perth Water to the hills.
The Theatre
Is situated on the King-street side, from which there is a large entrance leading to the family circle and gallery. The main entrance, which leads to the stalls and the dress circle, is from Hay-street. From a beautifully tiled vestibule, 19 feet six inches wide, one is led up a bold stairway with marble treads and rises, and cement balustrades, and handrails of alabaster white. The stairs divide at the half-landing, which is 28 feet wide, and meet again in a spacious foyer outside the “circle.” This room is one of the most gorgeous in the building. It is set with Minton’s tiles, worked into elaborate floral designs, and is adorned with architectural devices in the renaissance style, which is employed throughout the interior of the block. The ceiling is of stamped ornamented steel, and in the centre is a lan-tern 12 feet in diameter. Fairy lights are set around the outer ring, and in the centre are chastely-cut panels, which lead into a funnel ventilator for the whole room. Ladies’ retiring and cloak rooms, and a gentlemen’s cloak room, are on either side of the foyer. Entering the theatre one is in A Huge Chamber, over two chains from front to back.
The exact dimensions are: auditorium, 75 feet by 70; stage, 65 feet by 70. The ground floor accommodates 974 people; the dress circle 540; and the family circle and the gallery combined 1070, making a total of 2,584 on the three floors. The proscenium is 32 feet by 30. From the boards to the “gridiron” is 65 feet, the stage space thus occupying practically a chain square. The first ‘fly” is 35 feet high, and the second 40 feet; and to further facilitate the operations of the mechanics, galleries are run right around the back wall, connected with each other by steel stairs. In each of the wings a spiral stairway runs up the whole height, and there is a similar passage at the back. The overhead is a forest of steel beams and rafters, upon which to sus-pend the scenery; and provision has been made for innumerable appliances for scene shifting and painting. A large chamber has been added to the western side for a scene dock. A dozen trap doors are placed at different points in the stage floor, and space has been left behind the wings for the prompter, the set director, the fireman, and the electric and limelight man. Just off the stage on the west side are apartments for leading artists, and on the flat below there is a suite of 14 rooms for ‘supers.’ The orchestra is placed well below the line of footlights. Mr. Phil W. Goatcher, of Sydney and Melbourne, has been engaged to do the stage decorations.
Artificial Waterfalls.
To return to the auditorium, a delightful novelty has been introduced in the shape of four artificial waterfalls. The larger pair, which are each five feet six inches across, are placed one on either side, between the proscenium and the outer walls, opposite, and slightly above the level of the dress circle. The smaller pair are set in the edges of the proscenium, and almost on the curtain’s fringe. By a mechanical arrangement, the lowering of the main asbestos curtain automatically raises the curtain from the smaller openings, disclosing grottos, with water trickling over artificial rocks. The nooks will be decked with green, and will be kept uncovered before and after the entertainment and during the intervals. They will serve the further purpose of ventilation, which, however, has been provided for by a hundred different flues, a sliding roof over the auditorium and a fume shaft over the stage. The roof of the auditorium curves upwards in the shape of an immense saucer and terminates in a flat area which is capable of being slid off both ways from a central dividing line. On warm evenings, the audience may witness a play with no roof overhead but Heaven’s vault.
Water and Fire Escapes.
The theatre, it is calculated, can be emptied in less than two minutes. In both the ground and the top floors there are eleven escape doors, averaging five feet wide, all fitted with Chubbs’ panic bolts, which yield automatically when-ever pressure is applied. The dress circle has seven similar escapes, and the premises are so arranged that once clear of the theatre there is practically no chance of packing in the passage ways outside. Wide corridors radiate towards the street, the yard or the balconies. The main curtain, which will be used at all times, will be of asbestos, and consequently fireproof. A three-inch water main leads to the stage, and branches ramificate throughout the appointments, terminating in a score of separate sprinklers. The whole water service is regulated from the stage floor, and any part where an outbreak of fire might occur can be drenched in a moment, mere-ly by the turning on of one or another of a system of taps. Fire plugs, with hoses, hydrants, axes, keys, and other firemen’s appliances, are let into niches in the walls at different parts of the auditorium. Ignition from the fusing of electric light wires has been guarded against by enclosing the connections in steel casings throughout the building.
The Hotel.
As near as it is practical to make them, the whole promises will be fire-proof. Over three hundred tons of iron or steel (most of it manufactured locally) have been put into the structure. The framework is of steel girders, and all the roofs, with the exception of that over the front elevation, are carried out in wrought steel. Wherever wood is used in the ceilings, it is lined with asbestos and covered with steel sheeting. The walls are faced with glistening cement, the passage floors are of concrete, and the stairways are of marble or rubbed Castlemaine slate. The theatre will be kept separate from the hotel by means of heavy iron doors, which will be closed except at the time of entertainments. That part of the building not devoted to the purposes of the theatre will comprise a fine residential h-tel. It has 65 bedrooms, six bars, half a score of parlours or lounges, a large billiard-room in the basement, and a spacious dining-room on the first floor. The main bar will be on the Hay-King-street corner and below it will be a large cafe, while three shops face the Hay-street frontage. The block was designed by Mr. Wm. Wolf. architect, of Barrack-street, Perth, and its erection has been entrusted to Mr. G. Leibe. [1]
[1] West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 – 1954), Tuesday 8 March 1904, page 7