King's Theatre Fremantle

Theatre in South Terrace, opened 27 September 1904 as Dalkeith Opera House. Architect: F.W. Burwell. Soon renamed King's Theatre.

Designed as a lyric theatre, and briefly designated as an opera house, the King's Theatre appears to have functioned as a multipurpose venue until it closed in 1920. It opened with Maude Jeffries, Julius Knight and a London company in four plays presented by J.C. Williamson. The theatre, built adjacent to the Freemason's Hotel for James Gallop, had a 27-metre Renaissance-style frontage which included five shop fronts at street level. An upstairs supper room gave onto a full-length gaslit balcony above the pavement. The stalls and circle seated about 1200 people, and there was room for more in the gallery.  

In hot weather the auditorium could be cooled by opening a sliding panel in the roof and numerous decorative ventilators. In response to adverse reports on the safety of the Theatre Royal in Perth, numerous safety measures were incorporated in the King's Theatre, including sprinklers over the stage and 13 fire-escape doors. The provision of backup electricity and gas systems suggests that the King's Theatre was technically well-equipped. The stage measured 18.29 by 12.19 metres, with fly galleries at 7.92 metres and a grid at 15.85 metres above the floor. When the theatre closed part of the building was converted to a panel-beating workshop. Another part was temporarily converted to an ice rink in 1978, and part of this is now a night club.