The South Australian government has approved a proposal to upgrade and expand Her Majesty’s Theatre on Grote Street in Adelaide.
Designed by Cox Architecture, the major revamp will include a new wing featuring three levels of bars, along with entertainment and exhibition spaces.
The theatre’s existing 970-seat capacity will be expanded with a 1,472-seat auditorium spread over three levels. The revamp will also include rejuvenated foyers and a spacious backstage area.
The theatre’s existing 970-seat capacity will be expanded with a 1,472-seat auditorium spread over three levels.
Image: Cox Architecture
The original front entrance will be restored, with a “dramatic” new canopy, which will be designed to celebrate the building’s “Edwardian grandeur.”
Designed by South Australian born and trained architect David Williams and South Australian born but London-trained architect Charles Good, the theatre was built from 1912 to 1913 and was given the name Princess Theatre. By the time it opened on 5 September 1913 it had been renamed the Tivoli Theatre, a name it would keep until 1962 when it underwent substantial alterations and took on its current moniker. The theatre is the “last remaining from the famous national Tivoli vaudeville circuit,” according to he Adelaide Festival Centre Trust which now manages and operates the venue.
Her Majesty’s theatre revamp, designed by Cox Architecture.
Image: Cox Architecture
Though the majority of the funding for the $66 million upgrade will be provided by the state government, with money allocated to the project in the 2016 budget, the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust is also seeking $3 million from private donors and theatre lovers.
Actor, comedian and patron of the renewal project Barry Humphries said he had performed in theatres throughout the English-speaking world “but there is none I hold more dearly than South Australia’s surviving Her Majesty’s Theatre” and it needed to be brought back to its original state.
The revamp will include provisions for a spacious backstage area.
Image: Cox Architecture
The South Australian Government is also in the process of redeveloping the Adelaide Festival Centre, as part of the $900-million redevelopment of the Adelaide Festival Plaza precinct. Designs by Hassell for that redevelopment were unveiled in 2016 and the project is now nearing completion.
“The decision to redevelop both of these theatres and link them with vibrant, busy and pedestrian friendly laneways through the city demonstrates again the government’s vision for Adelaide,” said South Australian premier Jay Weatherill.
Completion of the project is slated for 2019.
