25 March 1878   Theatre Royal

The 'new' Theatre Royal in Hindley Street opened on 25 March 1878. The Adelaide Observer described the re-built and much larger Theatre Royal, costing £20 000, noting its saucer shaped ceiling and blue dome with gold stars. The dress circle had seats of white and gold with red plush, and in fact the whole theatre was far more luxurious than the one it replaced. 

The original theatre was built in 1868 for Sam Lazar and had an auditorium of about 15 x 18 metres and the pit, stalls, dress circle and gallery could hold about 1300 people.

The new theatre was owned by Edgar Chapman and leased by James Allison. In the late 1880s J.C. Williamson controlled the theatre which was managed by Wybert Reeve. In 1920 businessman Herbert Myers bought the property from the estate of Edgar Chapman and in 1927 he sold it to Sir George Tallis and later the Taits (the great theatrical family) acquired some interest in the theatre.

In May 1955 Miller Anderson, the department store next door, bought the theatre for £175,000, but age was catching up with the old place and it needed improvements. Some doubts on the structural safety of the proscenium wall saw the theatre closed down in mid-1962 and it was demolished and replaced with a car park.

John West, Theatre In Australia,  Cassell, Australia, 1978.