Theatre in Phillip Street, Sydney, opened as St James Hall seating 650, 17 December 1903. Architect: Burcham Clamp. Seating reduced to 447 by new stage and proscenium 1916. Called Mercury Theatre 28 February 1952 to 19 December 1953. Redecorated and reopened 7 May 1954 as Phillip Street Theatre, seating 368. Closed 14 January 1961. Demolished and replaced in late 1963 by 15-storey building, including new 300-seat St James Hall, sometimes known as Phillip Street Theatre. Architects: Peddle Thorp and Walker. Closed for renovation of building, 7 October 1989.
The theatre where William Orr presented the acclaimed Phillip Street Revues for nearly seven years was originally the St James Hall, built by Church of England on a site it has owned since the nearby St James Church was built in 1820-24. The three-storey brick building was erected in 1903. Above a semi-basement for church offices were a concert hall and, on the third level, a school. The church hoped to repay large borrowings for the building by frequent letting of the hall, which was praised for good acoustics, harmonious proportion, central location and lack of noise from trams. The gallery, which had an intricate cast-iron balustrade, extended along the side walls. The original bare platform was replaced with a miniature stage in 1912, when the Sydney Stage Society produced Prunella. In 1916 the stage was rebuilt and enlarged, though a new proscenium reduced the seating capacity. The hall then became a popular venue for amateur, semiprofessional and professional theatrical groups, including the Modern Theatre Players and the New Sydney Repertory Society.
On 25 August 1950 the
John Alden Company began a professional season of
The Merchant of Venice and
Measure for Measure.
Mercury Theatre opened its first repertory season of plays in early 1952 and despite financial difficulties continued to the end of 1953. Then the hall was redecorated, reseated and renamed for the
Phillip Street Theatre Company. Its fast, saucy, topical intimate revues won a great reputation and 14 were presented in the theatre until the building was closed in 1961. The new building contained a one-level raked hall which lacked the atmosphere of the old St James Hall, with its deep horseshoe balcony crowding the audience around the stage. It seated only 300, yet for seven years during the 1980s
Peter Williams conducted a commercial enterprise there, including performances for schoolchildren and an acting school.
Venue
Provide feedback on Mercury Theatre