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The Queen's Theatre is a building of historic importance in Playhouse Lane, Adelaide, South Australia, the oldest such in mainland Australia, but predated by Theatre Royal in Hobart, Tasmania. It was not the first theatre in Adelaide however, that being Samson Cameron's short-lived Royal Victoria Theatre on North Terrace which opened on 23 November 1839.
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History
At the south end of Gilles Arcade, off Currie Street, with seating for over 1000 people, it was built for Emanuel Solomon (1800–1873) and his Sydney-based partner, brother Vaiben Solomon (1802–1860) in 1840 to dire predictions of failure from the press and opened with Othello on 11 January 1841. John Lazar was manager from 1841. The Southern Australian's prognostications proved correct and the last play was staged around 28 November 1842. Some use was made of the theatre for public meetings and lectures, and Solomon offered it to the government gratis if they would prohibit the building of further taverns in the vicinity (his Shakspere Tavern, subsequently named Temple Tavern, was adjacent). This was rejected, but in 1843 the government signed a contract with Solomon for three years' rental at £200 per annum for use as Resident Magistrates Court, Supreme Court and offices for the Registrar General, the Advocate General, the Assistant Crown Solicitor and Assistant to the Bench of Magistrates.
Between 1846 and 1847 Solomon, whose nephew Judah Moss Solomon (1818–1880) was an occasional partner, attempted to sell the theatre and tavern by lottery, but it was never fully subscribed so he refunded to the punters their stakes.
It reopened, re-using the name Royal Victoria Theatre, under the management of John Lazar and George Coppin, on 23 December 1850.
In 1861 it closed for refurbishment and substantial remodelling, and reopened in July with A. J. Solomon the new lessee and Robert MacGowan the stage manager of what was Adelaide's only theatre until the opening of the Theatre Royal at 28 Hindley Street on 13 April 1868, which spelled the demise of the "Victoria".
It then became successively a dance hall designated the "Prado", the headquarters for the City Mission, a horse market and other commercial uses, and finally a car park.
Recent development
The building was purchased by the South Australian Asset Management Corporation and transferred to Heritage SA in the 1980s. Excavation revealed historically significant remains and numerous artefacts.
The Queen's Theatre was reopened as a performance venue at the 1996 Adelaide Festival of Arts, with a performance of The Magic Flute by Opera Australia. Following essential refurbishments, it was reopened for the launch of the 1998 Festival of Arts by Robyn Archer.
The theatre is now used as a performance space and function venue, but with stringent conditions intended to preserve as far as possible, the old character of the building.
New Queen's Theatre
A new theatre was built in 1846 for George Coppin on nearby land on Light Square belonging to Solomon and managed by John Lazar. The hall held 700 and had the distinction of prohibiting smoking in the boxes. A critique of a show at New Queen's Theatre was the occasion of a court case against editor John Stephens in 1850. The Adelaide Garrick Club. may have been the last company to mount plays there, with productions of three Thomas Morton comedies, the last in September 1850. There is no newspaper reference to this theatre after November 1850.