Royal Victoria Hall

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Royal Victoria Hall

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Venue	Royal Victoria Hall
Other Names	Mason's Concert Hall Victoria Theatre Royal Victoria Theatre
Address	80 Elizabeth Street Brisbane QLD 7000 Australia
Related Venues	Also known as Mason's Concert Hall Also known as Queensland Theatre (1874-1881) Is on the site of Theatre Royal
Map
Latitude \| Longitude	-27.470977 \| 153.025302
Events	Date Contributor Organisation
	Matrimonial Manoeuvres or, Matrimony, 8 July 1872 Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 Hard Up, 23 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 4 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 22 August 1868 Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868 An April Fool, 2 March 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 The Merchant of Cadiz and the Spanish Trade or, The Bragging Bravos of the Brigand Land, 5 April 1867 Wanted a Star, 2 September 1866 Wanted a Star, 2 August 1866
	Brisbane Amateur Dramatic Club The Merchant of Cadiz and the Spanish Trade or, The Bragging Bravos of the Brigand Land, 5 April 1867 Gentleman Amateurs An April Fool, 2 March 1868 The Queensland Volunteer Brigade An April Fool, 20 January 1868 Volunteer Dramatic Club Hard Up, 23 September 1868 Volunteers Brigade Band Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868
	E Willett - Actor, Unknown Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 Hard Up, 23 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 4 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 22 August 1868 Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868 Wanted a Star, 2 September 1866 J R Taylor - Lessee Hard Up, 23 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 4 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 22 August 1868 Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868 Wanted a Star, 2 September 1866 Edith Palmerston - Actor A Day in Melbourne, 4 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 22 August 1868 Wanted a Star, 2 September 1866 Wanted a Star, 2 August 1866 W Alexander - Actor A Day in Melbourne, 4 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 22 August 1868 Wanted a Star, 2 September 1866 R W Pownall - Actor A Day in Melbourne, 4 September 1868 A Day in Melbourne, 22 August 1868 Wanted a Star, 2 September 1866 W H Bond - Actor Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 George Darrell - Actor, Director, Playwright Matrimonial Manoeuvres or, Matrimony, 8 July 1872 Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 H N Douglas - Actor-Manager An April Fool, 2 March 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 J Fowles - Actor Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 W J Holloway - Stage Manager An April Fool, 2 March 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 C H Smith - Musical Director An April Fool, 2 March 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 G A F Wood - Scenic Artist An April Fool, 2 March 1868 An April Fool, 20 January 1868 H Ackland - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 W Backhouse - Actor Fra Diavolo, 24 July 1868 Bond - Actor, Playwright Hard Up, 23 September 1868 J L Byers - Lessee The Merchant of Cadiz and the Spanish Trade or, The Bragging Bravos of the Brigand Land, 5 April 1867 T Campbell - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 W G Carey - Actor, Stage Manager Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 Blanche Clifton - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 George Darrell - Actor Matrimonial Manoeuvres or, Matrimony, 8 July 1872 Robert Heir - Actor Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 Charles Holly - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 Frank Hussey - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 C S Irvine - Actor Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 Jordan - Actor Man and Wife, 5 June 1871 Max Meretzic - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 J Newton - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 J Oaten - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 E Reeves - Performer Hussey and Holly's Minstrels, 30 September 1870 George Herbert Rogers - Actor Wanted a Star, 2 August 1866 Private H Rogers - Actor An April Fool, 20 January 1868 Wilson - Actor An April Fool, 20 January 1868 Ada Wilson - Actor An April Fool, 20 January 1868 Clara Wilson - Actor An April Fool, 20 January 1868 Emily Wilson - Actor Hard Up, 23 September 1868 C A Wright - Actor The Merchant of Cadiz and the Spanish Trade or, The Bragging Bravos of the Brigand Land, 5 April 1867 C G Wright - Playwright The Merchant of Cadiz and the Spanish Trade or, The Bragging Bravos of the Brigand Land, 5 April 1867
Resources	Ross Thorne, Theatre Royal Brisbane, Companion To Theatre In Australia, 1995, 583 Theatre in Elizabeth Street, opened January 1865 as Mason's Concert Hall. Architect: W. Coote. Name later alternated between Victoria Concert Hall and Victoria Theatre. Renovated, reopened on 21 April 1874 as Queensland Theatre. Rebuilt and reopened on 18 April 1881 as Theatre Royal, seating 1350. Improved with electric lighting and redecoration 1911. Closed 19 December 1959 and converted to cabaret and orchestral rehearsal room. The first true theatre in Brisbane began as a one-level hall behind the Victoria Hotel. A photograph of the old hotel shows 'Theatre Royal Est'd 1863' in plasterwork above the cornice, but the publican George B. Mason did not open the simple concert hall that became the theatre until early 1865. There were dress seats, stalls and pit on the flat floor, but there was neither gallery nor boxes. The stage appeared 'to be well adapted for theatrical representation', said a correspondent in the Brisbane Courier. The theatre was first advertised as the Victoria Theatre on 30 September 1865, but patronage seems to have been mediocre. After the theatre reopened as the Queensland Theatre on 21 April 1874, the Brisbane Courier said the formerly 'dingy and cellar-like' house had been considerably improved. It had a raked floor, a new proscenium, a new gas sunlight, lighter colours and generally increased comfort. The newspapers still did not consider it a good theatre, however. The whole building appears to have been rebuilt from the street backwards in 1881, parts of the hotel becoming integral with the theatre as refreshment and smoking rooms. Both hotel and theatre were named Royal. The theatre housed 350 in the dress circle, 250 in the stalls and 750 in the pit. The newspapers rated it suitable for a city of nearly 30,000 inhabitants. It was rather austere, with numerous closely spaced posts supporting the circle. From 1900 until the Second World War its uses fluctuated between vaudeville and popular light drama. It was in the Brennan Vaudeville Circuit for a period after the 1911 refurbishment. During the Second World War it was a theatre for the American armed forces. It returned to vaudeville in 1948 under the direction of George Wallace jnr, but his weekly-change shows lost popularity after television began in Brisbane and it soon closed. Article: Ross Thorne, Theatre Royal Brisbane, Companion To Theatre In Australia, 1995, 583
Data Set	AusStage
Venue Identifier	13506

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