The Playhouse Theatre (Perth)
Encyclopedia
The Playhouse Theatre in central Perth, Western Australia
was purpose-built for live theatre
in the 1950s and remained one of the city's principle venues for performing arts for over half a century until replaced by the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia in January 2011.
on Pier Street land owned by the Anglican Church, the former site of the Church of England Deanery
tennis court
. The theatre was formally opened on 22 August 1956 to a capacity audience of 700, with the opening production of John Patrick’s 1953 Pulitzer Prize
-winning play The Teahouse of the August Moon
. The building was designed by the local architectural firm of Sheldon & Krantz and constructed at a cost of £65,000. The main lobby contained a mural by local brutalist architect
Iwan Iwanoff
.
In 1919 the establishment of the Perth Repertory Club led to the development of a strong local amateur-based theatre scene. The Repertory Club initially worked out of a basement room at the Palace Hotel
and, later, the old composing room of the Western Australian Newspaper Company. The need for the Playhouse arose as Perth's main theatre, His Majesty's Theatre
was considered too large to provide a feasible venue for locally produced live-theatre productions, and had been functioning principally as a cinema
since the early 1940s. In the mid-1950s the board and members of the Repertory Club commenced fundraising for the construction of a smaller purpose-built theatre to stage their productions. With the opening of the Playhouse, the Repertory Club became a fully professional theatre company, the National Theatre Company.
Spectacular popularity was enjoyed by the theatre from 1978-1981 when Stephen Barry
was artistic director of the National Theatre at the Playhouse. He arranged outstanding guest performances by international celebrities Warren Mitchell
, Honor Blackman
, Robyn Nevin
, Timothy West
, Tim Brooke-Taylor
and Judy Davis
, among others. Barry commissioned Dorothy Hewett
's play, The Man from Muckinupin, for the State's sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary celebrations in 1979 (WAY '79), despite hostile resistance from then state premier Sir Charles Court
. However, soon after Barry's departure, the company lost its audience appeal. Despite an extensive renovation in 1982, with reduction of seating capacity, the National Theatre was liquidated in February 1984. In 1984 the Playhouse was leased to the Perth Theatre Trust and the venue subsequently became home to The Playhouse Theatre Company (1984–85), Western Australian Theatre Company (1985–1991) and finally the Perth Theatre Company (1995–2009). The Playhouse was principally used for drama, contemporary dance and comedy performances.
The Playhouse is a traditional proscenium
arch theatre with a raked auditorium, seating 427 people on two main levels (189 in stalls and 238 in the dress circle), with a 10.2 metre wide stage. The theatre also has bar and conference facilities. It has presented regular offerings of theatre and dance as well as hosting productions from the annual Perth International Arts Festival
.
The Playhouse Theatre is currently managed by AEG Ogden (Perth) Pty Ltd on behalf of the Perth Theatre Trust. The theatre was the performance and administrative home of the Perth Theatre Company
for sixteen years, until the company's relocation to the new State Theatre Centre of Western Australia in January 2011. The Company's last production was of David Williamson
's The Removalists
in April 2010. The Playhouse Theatre is proposed to be demolished in 2011 to facilitate a $3 million music centre funded by an international donor as part of the redevelopment of the St George's Cathedral precinct. Demolition was originally planned for 2010 but postponed when the Perth Theatre Trust sought to extend its lease due to delays to the construction of the State Theatre. The final production was the pantomime
production of Puss in Boots
in December 2010, produced by the MS
Society of WA.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
was purpose-built for live theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in the 1950s and remained one of the city's principle venues for performing arts for over half a century until replaced by the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia in January 2011.
History
The theatre was constructed adjacent to St George's CathedralSt George's Cathedral, Perth
St George's Cathedral is the principal Anglican church in the city of Perth, Western Australia and the mother-church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is located in St Georges Terrace in the centre of the city.- History:...
on Pier Street land owned by the Anglican Church, the former site of the Church of England Deanery
The Deanery, Perth
The Deanery is located on St Georges Terrace, at the intersection of St Georges Terrace and Pier Street, Perth, Western Australia.It was built in the late 1850s as a residence and office for the first Dean of Perth, Reverend George Pownall...
tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
. The theatre was formally opened on 22 August 1956 to a capacity audience of 700, with the opening production of John Patrick’s 1953 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning play The Teahouse of the August Moon
The Teahouse of the August Moon (play)
The Teahouse of the August Moon is a 1953 play written by John Patrick adapted from the 1951 novel by Vern Sneider. It was later adapted for film in 1956, and the 1970 Broadway musical, Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen.-Plot summary:...
. The building was designed by the local architectural firm of Sheldon & Krantz and constructed at a cost of £65,000. The main lobby contained a mural by local brutalist architect
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
Iwan Iwanoff
Iwan Iwanoff
Iwan Iwanoff , also known as Iwan Nickolow and Iwan Nickoloff Iwanoff, was born in Küsstendil , Bulgaria, on 2 July 1919 and died on 7 October 1986 in Perth, Western Australia. Iwan Iwanoff studied architecture in Europe before arriving in Perth to work as an architect...
.
In 1919 the establishment of the Perth Repertory Club led to the development of a strong local amateur-based theatre scene. The Repertory Club initially worked out of a basement room at the Palace Hotel
Palace Hotel, Perth
The Palace Hotel in Perth, Western Australia is a landmark three-storey heritage listed building located in the city's central business district...
and, later, the old composing room of the Western Australian Newspaper Company. The need for the Playhouse arose as Perth's main theatre, His Majesty's Theatre
His Majesty's Theatre, Western Australia
His Majesty's Theatre is an Edwardian Baroque theatre in Perth, Western Australia. Constructed from 1902 to 1904 during a period of great growth for the town, the theatre is located on the corner of Hay Street and King Street in Perth's central business district. At the time the theatre was opened,...
was considered too large to provide a feasible venue for locally produced live-theatre productions, and had been functioning principally as a cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
since the early 1940s. In the mid-1950s the board and members of the Repertory Club commenced fundraising for the construction of a smaller purpose-built theatre to stage their productions. With the opening of the Playhouse, the Repertory Club became a fully professional theatre company, the National Theatre Company.
Spectacular popularity was enjoyed by the theatre from 1978-1981 when Stephen Barry
Stephen Barry
The British drama producer and artistic director Stephen Leon Reid Barry was chief executive of two important Edinburgh theatres, the Festival and the King's, prime venues of the famed Edinburgh International Festival...
was artistic director of the National Theatre at the Playhouse. He arranged outstanding guest performances by international celebrities Warren Mitchell
Warren Mitchell
Warren Mitchell is an English actor who rose to initial prominence in the role of bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in the BBC television sitcom Till Death Us Do Part , and its sequels Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health , all of which were written by Johnny Speight...
, Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
, Robyn Nevin
Robyn Nevin
Robyn Anne Nevin AM , is an Australian stage and screen actress, and is considered by some as a doyenne of Australian theatre.- Early life :...
, Timothy West
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
, Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
and Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Judy Davis is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows....
, among others. Barry commissioned Dorothy Hewett
Dorothy Hewett
Dorothy Coade Hewett was an Australian feminist poet, novelist, librettist and playwright. She was also a member of the Communist Party of Australia, though she clashed on many occasions with the party's leadership.-Early life:Hewett was born in Perth and was brought up on a sheep and wheat farm...
's play, The Man from Muckinupin, for the State's sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary celebrations in 1979 (WAY '79), despite hostile resistance from then state premier Sir Charles Court
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia and member for the seat of Nedlands for the Liberal Party for nearly 30 years.-Early life:...
. However, soon after Barry's departure, the company lost its audience appeal. Despite an extensive renovation in 1982, with reduction of seating capacity, the National Theatre was liquidated in February 1984. In 1984 the Playhouse was leased to the Perth Theatre Trust and the venue subsequently became home to The Playhouse Theatre Company (1984–85), Western Australian Theatre Company (1985–1991) and finally the Perth Theatre Company (1995–2009). The Playhouse was principally used for drama, contemporary dance and comedy performances.
The Playhouse is a traditional proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
arch theatre with a raked auditorium, seating 427 people on two main levels (189 in stalls and 238 in the dress circle), with a 10.2 metre wide stage. The theatre also has bar and conference facilities. It has presented regular offerings of theatre and dance as well as hosting productions from the annual Perth International Arts Festival
Perth International Arts Festival
The Perth International Arts Festival is Australia's longest running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia between February-March. The program features contemporary and classical music, dance, theatre, opera, visual arts, large-scale public works, Lotterywest Festival Films and the...
.
The Playhouse Theatre is currently managed by AEG Ogden (Perth) Pty Ltd on behalf of the Perth Theatre Trust. The theatre was the performance and administrative home of the Perth Theatre Company
Perth Theatre Company
Perth Theatre Company is a live theatre company in Perth, Western Australia. Its vision is "To lead Western Australian theatre in the creation of new, energetic and adventurous theatre that challenges and excites audiences and creates new opportunities for WA artists."-History:Perth Theatre...
for sixteen years, until the company's relocation to the new State Theatre Centre of Western Australia in January 2011. The Company's last production was of David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
's The Removalists
The Removalists
The Removalists is a play written by Australian playwright David Williamson. The main issues the play addresses are violence, specifically domestic violence, and the abuse of power and authority...
in April 2010. The Playhouse Theatre is proposed to be demolished in 2011 to facilitate a $3 million music centre funded by an international donor as part of the redevelopment of the St George's Cathedral precinct. Demolition was originally planned for 2010 but postponed when the Perth Theatre Trust sought to extend its lease due to delays to the construction of the State Theatre. The final production was the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
production of Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots
'Puss' is a character in the fairy tale "The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault. The tale was published in 1697 in his Histoires ou Contes du temps passé...
in December 2010, produced by the MS
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
Society of WA.
Further reading
- Milne Geoffrey Theatre Australia (Un)limited: Australian Theatre Since the 1950s Rodopi Amsterdam/New York, NY, 2004
- Casey M Creating frames: contemporary indigenous theatre 1967-1990 Univ. of Queensland Press, 2004
- Sara Fitzpatrick Playhouse Theatre, Perth Playhouse enjoys second coming at InMyCommunity, 21 June 2011