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Hoyts executive. Nevertheless, taken in
isolation, the Melbourne foyer has an
intimate splendour that would not be
out of place in a Spanish palace.
In varying degrees of grandeur and
space, the approaches to the auditoria
of the Regents of South Yarra, Ballarat,
Sydney and Adelaide -and including the
Regent Fitzroy and Victory, St. Kilda
(a Regent in all but name) - achieved
architectural consistency and restrained
good taste.
Sydney was an example of a site
imposing severe design constraints.
Limited depth for the foyers forced the
architect to wind the main staircase
around the walls of a very shallow
space to the Dress Circle foyer. As a
solution to an unfortunate situation, it
was successful and visually interesting,
but it couldn’t begin to compare with
the graduated approach to the
impressive marble staircase of its
Adelaide sister, where a huge marble
eagle was poised at the top with wings
spread, ready to take off over the
patrons’ heads.
Circle Foyers
All of the theatres had spacious
circle foyers with rich decoration, fine
furniture and works of art. The Sydney
murals at each end of the vaulted space
were beautiful, but lacked strength
because of the restrained colours used,
making them something to be glanced
at, but not compelling enough to be
enjoyed at length.
Those in Melbourne and Adelaide
were impressive - classical Greek and
then mediaeval pageantry - based
appropriately enough, on the themes of
a Technicolor film in the case of
Melbourne, and dramatic charging
centaurs in Adelaide.
Gold leaf glittered on the mouldings
of the coffered ceilings. Whereas
Melbourne’s space was fit for a royal
reception, centred on the elegant marble
mantelpiece at its far end, the Adelaide
stairs turned back on themselves
towards Rundle Street. Patrons then
climbed a few more steps and entered
an art gallery immediately behind the
arched windows, which looked down
on the bustling shoppers below.
The Auditorium
In the end however, it is the
intermittently colourful, then dark Adelaide. From top: Entrance and staircase; the eagle poised; promenade to the art
space from which the audience views gallery and smoking room. Images: John Thiele Collection. (JTC)
the entertainment, that needs to be most
carefully planned. Current thinking
emphasizes the auditorium as an

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