While the Sydney Opera House may be the most iconic of Australia's theatres, during Victorian age Sydney residents frequented opera theatres throughout the city centre. While opening nights of the theatres were a spectacle reserved for the rich and influential, when the theatres were opened to the general public they become colourful spectacles of themselves- prostitutes solicited themselves freely in foyers, patrons with blocked views whistled their protests during performances and drunkards stumbled into the theatre after haunts at nearby pubs.
Below is a map of 4 early theatres located in the Sydney city central. None of the theatres remain to this day. The sites are now used for various purposes including the Dymocks Bookstore on George Street or the Sydney Centrepoint Tower.
Theatre Royal (1929)
The first Theatre Royal opened in Sydney in 1829 was built behind the saloon of the Royal Hotel, George Street.
The theatre was built by Barnett Levey, a brother of a convict. The Governor of the time, Governor Darling, did not allow performances at the theatre so it wasn’t until 1831 when Governor Bourke came to power that the theatre was finally permitted to stage performances.
The site is now occupied by the Dymocks Bookshop.
The Royal Victoria Theatre (1838)
The theatre was opened in 1838 by Joseph Wyatt (the head of a consortium who had operated the Theatre Royal after the departure of Barnett Levey until the ending of its lease in 1837).
Wyatt continued to operate the Royal Victoria Theatre until 1855 when he was forced to sell. He then opened a theatre in nearby Castlereagh Street (named the Prince of Wales Theatre). The Prince of Wales is the present site of the Theatre Royal.
The Criterion Theatre (1886)
The Criterion Theatre was designed by architect George G. Johnson in 1886. The theatre had a neo-renaissance exterior and its stage had a semi-circle shape with long, red velvet curtains.
On the opening night of the theatre to the public on December 27th 1886 the comic opera ‘Falka’ was performed, with the then Governor General and his wife Lady Carrington in attendence.
Her Majesty's Theatre Sydney (1887)
After three years of construction, the Her Majesty’s Theatre was opened on September 10th 1887 at the present site of Centrepoint Tower.
It featured a seven story hotel complex and could hold 2,000 people at capacity. On the night of the first performance at the theatre (a performance of the play Henry V) the crowd were vocal in their protests that the theatre’s arches were impeding their vision of the stage. The performance was interrupted by hissing and whistling from a patron. In response the lead performer- George Rignold- snapped at the protests “In God's name, why is the matter?”
