Page 8 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

Interior of State Theatre - by John MacCabe

A large hole in the ground still remains where the REGENT stood in George St, near the Town Hall opposite, the
Spanish facade of the former PLAZA is dominant, with the interior housing a McDonalds store and Planet
Hollywood.

The THEATRE ROYAL is situated in the basement levels of the MLC Building with the entrance in King St. This
theatre was built to replace the previous Theatre Royal, long occupied by J.C. Williamson's, with an entrance
around the corner in Castlereagh St.

The old theatre was fairly large and decorated in the Henry White Adam style, similar to Melbourne's Princess
and Athenaeum Theatres. The new Royal has a space age foyer with long ramps leading up and down to the
auditorium.

As I had only seen the interior previously decorated in its "Cats" guise, it was a pleasant surprise to see the
modified Adam style plaster wall panels and mock stage boxes added for "Phantom of the Opera" have been
retained, giving a touch of old world style to a modern auditorium.

This theatre also has a steeply raked and seats about 1000, smaller than the original. The current show is
"Crazy For You", a modern version of Gershwin's "Girl Crazy" and can be highly recommended as a tune and
laugh filled musical comedy. Again staging and presentation could not be faulted, a talented cast of young
performers were backed by such veterans as Peter Carroll, Sheila Bradley and the urbane and debonair Stuart
Wagstaff as a hillbilly "Pa", believe it or not.

Day 3 -Although inspections operated daily on demand at the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, Sunday morning
proved to be a good time as the auditoriums were not in use. I had visited the complex in its early days, but an
up-date was overdue.

The Playhouse seats 398 and is used for small plays, lectures and cinema , as required. Originally intended for
chamber music, which has graduated to the larger venues.

The Drama Theatre seats 544 in stadium in stadium style. The current show has a grand piano and stool
suspended on cables high above the rear stage. The pianist does have a clear sheet of perspex for their and
a safety harness.