Paris Theatre, Sydney

The Paris Theatre was a cinema and theatre located on the corner of Wentworth Avenue and Liverpool Street in Sydney that showed films and vaudeville, cabaret and plays. The theatre changed names several times, trading as Australia Picture Palace (1915-1935), Tatler Theatre (1935-1950), Park Theatre (1952-1954) and Paris Theatre (1954-1981) before being demolished in 1981. In May 1978 the theatre hosted a film festival that inspired the first Sydney Gay Mardi Gras. The theatre was also the home of Paris Theatre Company, a Sydney based theatre company.

Paris Theatre
Former namesAustralian Picture Palace, Tatler Theatre, Park Theatre
Address205-207 Liverpool Street, Sydney on the corner of Wentworth Avenue
Sydney
Australia
Coordinates33.8769681°S 151.2119533°E / -33.8769681; 151.2119533
DesignationDemolished
Current useSite occupied by apartments
Construction
Closed1981
ArchitectWalter Burley Griffin, Burcham Clamp, C. Bruce Dellit

Building

Located at 205-207 Liverpool Street, Sydney on the corner of Wentworth Avenue,[1] the architect was Walter Burley Griffin [2][3] [4]The theatre was a reinforced concrete building with relief stucco paneling.[2] It was demolished in 1981.

History

Australian Picture Palace (1915-1935)

The Australia Picture Palace designed by Walter Burley Griffin[2] was built in 1915 for Hoyt’s Theatres Ltd[5] and opened on 7 January 1916.[6]

Tatler Theatre (1935-1950)

In 1935, the theatre was renovated and renamed the Tatler Theatre.[5] [6][7] On 5 August 1943 Austral American Productions began showing first-run Warner Brothers films in an exclusive arrangement.[5]

Some performances at the theatre include the film “They Died with their Boots On” featuring Errol Flynn on 5 August 1943.[3]

Park Theatre (1952-1954)

In 1952 Hoyts purchased the theatre and it was renamed the Park Theatre.[6]

Paris Theatre (1954-1981)

The theatre was renovated in 1954 and renamed the Paris Theatre.[8]

From 21-27 May 1978, 900 people attended Sydney's first gay film festival at the Paris Theatre.[5] One of the films, Word is Out[9], inspired Ron Austin, a member of CAMP, with the idea of a street party which later became the first Mardi Gras in June of that year.[10]

Some notable performances at the theatre included

Paris Theatre Company

The Paris Company (formally the Paris Theatre Performance Group Limited) formed in March 1978 by Jim Sharman and Rex Cramphorn staged two new Australian plays at the theatre: Dorothy Hewett's musical play Pandora's Cross which opened in June 1978 and Louis Nowra's Visions which opened in August 1978.[14]

References
  1. "AUSTRALIAN PICTURE PALACE". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 2 June 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 8 February 2020 – via Trove.
  2. "Walter Burley Griffin Society - Sydney other". www.griffinsociety.org. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  3. "Paris Theatre in Sydney, AU - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  4. Hamann, Conrad. The Mystic Stonewright: Walter Burley Griffin [Book Review]. Meanjin, Vol. 36, No. 3, Oct 1977: 354-362.
  5. "Paris Theatre". dictionaryofsydney.org. 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  6. "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  7. "TATLER THEATRE". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 11 November 1935. p. 3 (CRICKET STUMPS). Retrieved 8 February 2020 – via Trove.
  8. "New Role For Park Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 31 July 1954. p. 9. Retrieved 9 February 2020 – via Trove.
  9. "Queer Screen | Past Festivals". Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  10. Chetcuti, Joseph (2018), Sydney's first gay Mardi Gras : what brought it on and how it changed us, Lygon Street Legal Services, ISBN 978-0-648-22530-0
  11. "Paris Theatre, Sydney. NSW | Australian Music Database". www.australianmusicdatabase.com. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  12. "Theatre program,'Visions' by Louis Nowra, designed by Martin Sharp, paper, Paris Theatre Company, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1978". collection.maas.museum. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  13. "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  14. "Paris Theatre Performance Group Limited records, 1978". State Library of New South Wales.
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