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Garrick Theatre (Sydney)

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Garrick Theatre, later Tivoli Theatre
Façade of the Tivoli Theatre (formerly Garrick Theatre), Sydney, 1905-1911
Map
Address79–83 Castlereagh Street
Sydney
Australia
Coordinates33°52′13″S 151°12′34″E / 33.87015°S 151.20945°E / -33.87015; 151.20945
Construction
Opened1890
Closed1929
Rebuilt1900
Years active1890–1929

The Garrick Theatre was a theatre and music hall at 79–83 Castlereagh Street[1] in Sydney from 1890 to 1929. The theatre was renamed the Tivoli Theatre in 1893 and operated as a popular vaudeville venue. It was destroyed by fire in 1899 and rebuilt. The theatre closed in 1929.

Location

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The location of the Garrick Theatre on Castlereagh Street in Sydney had a history of use for entertainment venues including a circus (Olympic Circus 1851–1852), a theatre (including the Royal Marionette Theatre of Australia, and the Royal Albert Theatre, 1852–1854), a dance hall (Scandinavian Hall)[2] a variety house (Victoria Hall 1880s) and finally as the Academy of Music.[3] In 1887 the Colonial Architect forced the closure of the venue[3][4] and three years later in 1890 it was demolished to make way for the Garrick Theatre.[3]

History

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Garrick Theatre

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Garrick Theatre on Castlereagh Street looking north, Sydney, New South Wales, ca. 1890

The Garrick Theatre was designed by the architect E. Weitzel,[5][6] built by Messrs. Brown and Tapson[6] and the principal decorators were Messrs. H. H. Groth, Jun., and Co. and the ceiling murals were painted by Lorenzini.[6] The building was in the Federation Free Classical architectural style.[7]

The auditorium of the theatre was 45 ft x 55 ft and could seat approximately 1,000 people in the stalls, orchestra chairs, dress circle, family circle, and private boxes.[6]

The Garrick Theatre opened on 22 December 1890.[8]

Tivoli Theatre

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In February 1893 Harry Rickards, the vaudeville showman, took over the lease of the Garrick Theatre renaming it the Tivoli Theatre.[8][9][10][11] He made some changes to the building, raising the orchestra pit and installing another sliding roof and opened on 18 February 1893.[3]

The building was destroyed by fire in 1899.[12][13] It was rebuilt after the fire with a new building behind the remaining facade of the former theatre[9] and reopened on 12 April 1900.[14] The new building was larger and could seat 1,200 people.[9] A collection of the Tivoli Theatre programs from 1893 to 1912 is held in the collections of the State Library of New South Wales.[15]

Following Rickards death the Tivoli Theatre continued to operate until J. C. Williamson's closed it down in 1929.[16][17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Theatres". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 11, 032. New South Wales, Australia. 1 October 1914. p. 5 (Supplement). Retrieved 3 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "REMINISCENCES OF THE STAGE". The Referee. No. 1583. 2 May 1917. p. 14. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d "OLYMPIC CIRCUS – ROYAL MARIONETTE THEATRE OF AUSTRALIA (aka MARIONETTE THEATRE OF AUSTRALIA) – SCANDANAVIAN HALL – VICTORIA HALL – ACADEMY OF MUSIC – GARRICK THEATRE – TIVOLI THEATRE (Sydney)". Sydney Theatre History. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  4. ^ "ACADEMY OF MUSIC". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 483. 9 November 1887. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Thorne, Ross; University of Sydney. Architectural Research Foundation, Theatre buildings in Australia to 1905: from the time of the First Settlement to arrival of cinema, ISBN 978-0-9500853-0-2
  6. ^ a b c d "GARRICK". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 16, 456. 20 December 1890. p. 10. Retrieved 2 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Sydney Architecture Images – Demolished- TIVOLI THEATRE [1]". www.sydneyarchitecture.com. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Theatres / Venues: New South Wales". Australian Variety Theatre Archive. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "Harry Rickards's Tivoli". dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  10. ^ Tivoli souvenir : comprising: The history of the Tivoli; The life story of Harry Rickards, and biographical sketches of artists who had appeared at the Tivoli, Tivoli Theatre?, 1913, retrieved 2 February 2017
  11. ^ Anderson, Gae (2009), Tivoli king : life of Harry Rickards vaudeville showman, Allambie Press, ISBN 978-0-646-50980-8
  12. ^ "THE TIVOLI THEATRE FIRE". Goulburn Evening Penny Post. 14 September 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 2 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "THE TIVOLI THEATRE FIRE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 19, 189. 13 September 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 2 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "THE OLD GARRICK". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 639. 27 May 1939. p. 13. Retrieved 2 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ Tivoli Theatre (Sydney, N.S.W.) (1893), [Tivoli programmes], retrieved 2 February 2017
  16. ^ Parsons, Philip; Chance, Victoria (1997), Concise companion to theatre in Australia (Revised and abridged from "Companion to theatre in Australia" ed.), Currency Press, ISBN 978-0-86819-499-8
  17. ^ Irvin, Eric (1985), Dictionary of the Australian theatre 1788-1914, Hale & Iremonger, ISBN 978-0-86806-127-6
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