His Majesty's Theatre
1904 - His Majesty's Theatre, Cnr King and Hay Streets, Perth, WA.
Purpose built as a theatre in 1904 for theatre promoter T.G.A. Molloy, it was Australia's first concrete and steel building. It was designed in the Federation Free Classical style by architect Adolph Wolfe and built by F.W. Leibe.
In designing His Majesty's Theatre, Wolf followed the proven style of the nineteenth century theatres of England and Europe and created a horseshoe shape for seating within the auditorium which brought the audience closer to the stage and improved sightlines and sound.
The auditorium featured four artificial waterfalls and the dome of the roof was built to slide sideways to improve ventilation so that on warm, fine nights the audience could sit under the stars. On one occasion it was left open because the sound of thunder and lightning outside enhanced the effects d what was happening on stage. Unfortuntely, along with the thunder and lightning came rain. As the roof had to be cranked by hand, closing the roof was a slow process and on this occasion, it was not closed before rained drenched the audience. Nor surprisingly, the roof was rarely opened again. The waterfalls no longer function and the dome roof was permanently sealed.
Over its life, the theatre has hosted large-scale musicals, ballet, opera, Shakespearean plays and many other events. It has been has been the performing venue for artists as diverse as Nellie Melba, Pavlova, Jascha Heifetz, Sybil Thorndike, Vivien Leigh and Margot Fonteyn. It was remodelled in 1912 and again in the 1980s. At the time the theatre was opened, it was the largest theatre in Australia, and had seating for over 2,500 people.
- More
The theatre is home to a Museum of Performing Arts. The Museum houses more than 30,000 catalogued items of theatre memorabilia collected by the theatre's historian. Items such as glamorous costumes, photographs, press clippings, scripts, scores and other historic pieces are publicly exhibited at the Museum, DownStairs at the Maj, with a new exhibition to view every six to eight weeks. The oldest item in the Museum collection dates back to 1854 - a beautiful silk programme from a Perth performance of amateur theatricals.
