| Coppin’s Theatres | City | Capacity | |
| 1846 | New Queen’s Theatre | Adelaide | 700 |
| 1850 | Royal Victoria Theatre | Adelaide | 1,000 approx |
| 1851 | Port Adelaide Theatre | Port Adelaide | 400 |
| 1855 | Olympic Theatre | Melbourne | 1,150 |
| 1856 | Pantheon Theatre, Cremorne Gardens | Melbourne | 1,200 approx |
| 1862 | Royal Haymarket Theatre | Melbourne | 2,500 |
| 1862 | Apollo Music Hall | Melbourne | 1,500 |
| 1872 | Theatre Royal | Melbourne | 3,950 |
George Selth Coppin (1819–1906) often boasted about the number of theatres he had built over his long profession career. But which ones were they, when were they built, what did they look like and what ultimately happened to them? The purpose of this article is to identify those theatres and to briefly answer some of these questions. To avoid making this article too long, I will not go into too much detail or to describe the performance history here, but leave it to others to elaborate on these aspects elsewhere.
In my list I am only including those theatres that he built from scratch, not ones that he did minor alterations to, of which there were many. Where did I get my list from? Well from Coppin’s own words. In his opening night address at the Royal Haymarket Theatre he claimed this was his fifth. So we only need to add one more for the rebuilding of the Theatre Royal (1872). However, I have also included the Royal Victoria Theatre because Coppin had considerable involvement in its refurbishment and also for its importance as the oldest surviving theatre on mainland Australia.
George Coppin, by T.S. Gill
State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, image B 46875/1
Emanuel Solomon (1800–1873) by T.S. Gill
State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, image B 46875/1
New Queen’s Theatre (1846–1850)
Address: Corner of Playhouse Lane and Eliza Street Adelaide
Architect: Thomas Price
Opening night playbill for New Queen’s Theatre. State Library Victoria, MS8827/11/658.After successful seasons in Launceston, Sydney and Melbourne, George Coppin and his wife Maria arrived at Port Adelaide on board the Teazer on 10 September 1846. Disappointedly, Coppin found the theatre scene in Adelaide to be a lot more inadequate than he had anticipated. In 1840 Emanuel Solomon had built a handsome theatre in Currie Street called the Queen’s Theatre. John Lazar, an acquaintance of Coppin’s from Sydney had managed it for short time. Unfortunately, the venture failed and the theatre closed its doors on 28 November 1842. The following year it was leased to the South Australian Government as a home for its Supreme Court.
Failing to find another suitable theatre space or hall to lease, Coppin approached Isaac Solomon who was the lessee a large billiard room attached to the Temple Inn that existed on the adjacent site to the Queen’s Theatre, and on land owned by his half-brother Emanuel Solomon. Coppin put a proposition to the Solomon brothers that he would like to extend this structure to create a new purpose-built theatre space. They immediately agreed. Over that following weekend Coppin and the architect Thomas Price began preparing designs and drawings for the new theatre. Within six weeks the builder’s work was complete. So on Monday, 2 November 1846 the New Queen’s Theatre opened accommodating 700 persons. The builders were Messrs. Sheppard & Lines.1
Two days before the SA Gazette and Colonial Register had reported:
“We have ourselves inspected the theatre, and must say it far exceeds our most sanguine expectations. The dress boxes are capable of holding 200 persons, and are divided into 11 separate boxes. The entrance from Light-square is of a very superior construction. The lower boxes and pit are most commodious and comfortable, and the stage department appears to embrace every convenience for the production of any class of entertainments. In fact, great credit is due to Mr. Price, for his design, and to the builders for the manner they have carried out his views. The whole is decorated in the Parisian style, and in colours admirably adapted for a warm climate. … the new theatre being exceedingly neat and well arranged.”2
In the subsequent weeks the theatre was an instant hit with the local population.
Over the following four years Adelaide’s population almost trebled and the demand for entertainment grew substantially. Moreover during this period technical and comfort expectations of local audiences also changed and the theatre began to show its age, and lose its reputation. Edward Snell visited it on 21 November 1850 and noted in his diary that it was a ‘wretched place, only pit and boxes in it and the stage illuminated by 5 foot lights and 2 sidelights only. The actors were a set of dull dogs, the scenery was damnable, and the audience a mixture of prostitutes and pickpockets.’3
The last performance at the New Queen’s Theatre occurred on 25 November 1850 with a farewell benefit for John Lazar. Coppin and Edward Opie both appeared in their favourite characters at this performance.4
The performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/22711
Royal Victoria Theatre (1850–1851)
Address: Corner of Gilles Arcade and Playhouse Lane, Adelaide
Architect: [probably Thomas Price]
Royal Victoria Theatre—view c.1861. State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, image B 3323.
By mid 1850 the Supreme Court’s lease on the old Queen’s Theatre had expired and was vacant. Coppin and Lazar immediately saw an opportunity to expand their theatrical activities and leased the building. Extensive renovations followed and the theatre was reopened on 23 December 1850 under the new name Royal Victoria Theatre, seating about 1,000 persons. It now had an imposing new classically inspired front elevation.
On that day the Adelaide Times reported:
This fine building is now completed, and will be opened this evening, for the first time, under the combined management of Messrs. Lazar and Coppin, who have engaged it from the proprietor, Mr. Emanuel Solomon, for three years, at £500 per annum. The front is adorned with Ionic pillars, surmounted with the Royal Coat of Arms, a beautiful specimen of English manufacture, measuring seven feet by five feet, which is placed in bold relief over the front entrance. The entrance to the dress circle is a fac simile to that of the Princess’s Theatre, London, beautifully papered all round, and includes two flights of stairs that lead to a magnificent lobby, 36 feet by 16 feet, intended exclusively for ladies as a withdrawing and promenading hall. The interior of the Theatre surpasses anything of the kind in the Australian colonies, both in design and execution, and the several departments are of gigantic dimensions. The whole length is 140 feet; breadth 34 feet; and height 50 feet; and the boxes form tiers, including six private boxes with private entrances. The pit is a vast space with close seats, capable of accommodating an immense concourse of people. Besides the compartments alluded to, there are the following rooms attached: Gentlemen’s saloon, 36 feet by 16 feet; two rooms for ladies to retire, 18 feet by 13 feet each; green room, 35 feet by 21 feet; storeroom; females’ dressing-room; men’s dressing-room; property-room; and wardrobe-room. The stage measures 74 feet by 34 feet 6 inches, and is well supplied with drop, scenes, and other necessary paraphernalia. The proscenium is both expansive and magnificently ornamented with a variety of allegorical devices, surrounding a Cupid in the centre holding the mirror up to Nature, and surmounted with an arched motto, Imitatio Vitae; Speculum consueludinis; Imago Veritatis, of which the following is a translation: The imitation of life; the mirror of manners; the representation of Truth. The front of both tiers of boxes is similarly adorned with appropriate allegorical and mythological designs, and beautifully bordered with mouldings of gilded papier mache, whilst the supporting pillars are all veneered and beautifully French polished. This vast expanse is brilliantly lighted up with five magnificent chandeliers, holding 108 wax candles. The chandeliers alone have cost the proprietor £120. All the painting was done by the talented artist Mr. Opie, in his best style, and the masterly manner in which it is executed reflects the highest credit on that gentleman. Mr Solomon has, in short, determined to spare no outlay or pains in forming a theatre worthy of the colony, and even the foregoing cursory description colony, and even the foregoing cursory description shews how well he has succeeded.5
However, the theatre’s popularity was short lived. It closed its doors on 13 May 1852 due to the exodus of many of Adelaide’s population to the Victoria goldfields and that consequentially put enormous pressure on Coppin’s finances.
The outer shell of this building still exists. In the 1980s it was purchased by the South Australian Government and since 1996 has been used as a flexible performance and event space.
A recent view of the Royal Victoria Theatre (now known as the Queen’s Theatre)—image from thequeensadelaide.com.au
The theatre’s performance history can be found at: https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/11583
More information about the building can also be found here https://losttheatres.net/queens
Port Theatre, Port Adelaide (1851–1866)
Address: 68–72 Commercial Road (SW corner with St Vincent Street), Port Adelaide
Architect: William Weir (d.1865)
White Horse Cellars & Theatre c.1870, from Back to Semaphore by J.E. Trotman, 1930, p.2
By the late 1840s Coppin’s investments in South Australia were doing extremely well and he had decided to stay in the colony. In 1850 an important sale of land came up in Port Adelaide owned by the Port Land Company controlled by Emanuel Solomon. Prior to their public sale on 13 October 1850, Coppin purchased lot 64 of Section 2112 at the SE corner of Commercial and St Vincent Streets from the company.6 His declared intention was to build a hotel and theatre to serve the growing 5,000 population in this new developing area.
On 25 July 1850 William Weir an Adelaide architect advertised for tenders to be received ‘up to 6th August from tradesmen willing to contract for the erection of an hotel, theatre and other buildings at Port Adelaide’.7 The contract was awarded to Walter Smith and by the end of September his workmen were busily engaged in digging the foundations. On 13 October, the day of the public land sale, the foundation stone was laid amidst great fanfare by Captain D. McGrath of the Benjamin Elkin.8
By St Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1851, the hotel was ready to open, but it took another three months to finish the theatre which opened on 25 June.
In March the SA Register described the theatre thus:
The Theatre is 60 feet in length, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high, the stage being 20 feet by 30 feet. The pit is of horse-shoe form, and has 18 rows of seats. A double tier of boxes and the gallery above make the whole accommodation sufficient for 400 persons. The boxes do not rest against the outside wall, but a wing wall with new foundations has been built all round, which encloses the whole Theatre, thus ensuring its safety. A no less a sum than £568 has been spent on the foundation of this extensive building, and no expense has been spared in order to ensure its stability. … The whole edifice is of stone; a handsome balcony and verandah, 140 feet long and 10 feet wide, surrounding the front. Mr. Weir is the architect, and Mr. Walter Smith the builder.9
Following its opening in June the Adelaide Times described it thus:
The interior forms a complete circle, and its capability for seeing and hearing are preferable to the Victoria Theatre. The decorations, which are from the hand of Mr. Hillier, late of the New Strand Theatre, are exceedingly chaste, and the arrangements for the accommodation of the audience, leave nothing to be desired. The company and orchestra are the same as engaged at the Victoria Theatre. It was found impossible to get the gallery ready by the Opening Night, in consequence of the late flood, which has prevented the staircase from being completed.10
By the end of June 1851 Coppin must have felt on top the world. He held the controlling interests in two theatres, the White Horse Cellar, and had various racing and mining investments. Unfortunately, the imminent discovery of gold in New South Wales and Victoria was to bring ruin to many South Australian colonists including Coppin. He attempted to sell the White Horse Cellars & Theatre but could find no buyers. He tried again in July 1861 but two years later he still owned it, leased to William Knapman. The last advertised performance at the theatre occurred in January 1866. By 1868 William Knapman had purchased the property.11
The building still exists but has been extended and greatly altered from its original appearance. The use now is as a series of retail and office premises.
Altered and extended building, Google Street View 2024
Olympic Theatre (1856–1859)
Address: 240 Exhibition Street (oringinally Stephen Street), Melbourne
Architect: Christian Herrmann Ohlfsen-Bagge (1822–1908)
Coppin’s Olympic Theatre, c.1858. Photograph by Walter Bentley Woodbury. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, RPS 3093-6-2018.
While in London in 1854 sourcing talent Coppin decided to purchase a cast iron and sheet iron prefabricated theatre building which could be speedily erected on his return to Melbourne. The building was manufactured by the Manchester firm of E. & T. Bellhouse.
When Coppin had left the colony there had been no suitably large theatres existing. What he didn’t know was that during his absence two new large theatres were to be constructed, Thomas Mooney’s Astley’s Amphitheatre which opened in September 1854 seating 2,000 and John Black’s Theatre Royal which opened in July 1855 seating 3,500.
In Coppin’s absence the foundation stone was laid by G.V. Brooke on 18 April 1855. The theatre opened 6 weeks later on 30 July, just two weeks after the Theatre Royal. The architect was Ohlfsen-Bagge. He was later to also design the Pantheon at Cremorne Gardens.
The Olympic only seated 1,150 patrons. It had two levels, 700 in the pit and stalls, 450 more in a rectangular dress circle, which had boxes in the side legs and rear of the auditorium and seats immediately facing the stage. Six gilded, fluted Corinthian columns supported a 10 metre wide proscenium arch. William Pitt senior decorated the interior, which was fitted out in timber. It had a pitched roof of corrugated iron, painted blue on the inside and dotted with gold stars.’12
The building is of significant interest because it was probably the largest prefabricated building to be erected in Australia at the time. However, it was not a success as a theatre. Locals nicknamed it the ‘Iron Pot’ because its prefabricated iron panels on the roof and walls produced searing heat in summer, cold in winter and caused thundering noise when it rained.13
Melbourne Punch, 2 August 1855, p.140
After the partnership of Coppin and Brooke gained control of the much larger Theatre Royal in 1857, it was not needed, so the Olympic was briefly used as a dance hall only to return as a theatre when the partnership split.
In 1859 Coppin decided to consolidate his theatrical activities on the Pantheon at Cremorne Gardens, so the building was converted to Turkish Baths. This use was financially successful and continued until the interiors were gutted by fire in 1866. It finally ended its life as a warehouse before being demolished. The Comedy Theatre now stands on the site.
The performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/13409
Royal Pantheon (1856–1863)
Address: cr. Cremorne and Balmain Streets, Cremorne, Melbourne
Architect: Christian Herrmann Ohlfsen-Bagge (1822–1908)
Detail showing Pantheon Theatre and Refreshment Rooms [Crystal Bar & Hotel].
State Library of Victoria, MP20/12/62/8, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/246532
James Ellis, a former manager of the Cremorne Gardens pleasure gardens in London, arrived in Melbourne in 1852 and in the following year established Melbourne’s own Cremorne Gardens on the banks of the Yarra River at Richmond. However, he struggled to make it pay. In June 1856 Coppin spotted an opportunity and purchased the property for £10,000. He immediately set about making improvements. The architect Ohlfsen-Bagge was appointed to design a new concert hall/theatre and bar for the site. Wasting no time, tenders were advertised on the 4 July.14
Refreshment Rooms (Crystal Bar), Cremorne Gardens - George Coppin is in centre with tall black hat. National Library of Australia, Canberra, PIC Box P863 #P863/17.
At the same time another architect Peter Conlon was appointed to handle the landscaping works and ornamental features. On Sunday 26 October 1856 the revamped gardens were reopened to the public despite the fact that the theatre was unfinished. However that was soon rectified.
No description of the internal layout of the Pantheon can be found. However, it is fairly safe to assume that it was similar to the layout of the Olympic, given that it was designed by the same architect. The theatre was this time constructed of timber. From the plan of the building as it existed in 1867 by Crouch and Wilson architects, one can imagine the form it must have taken. It had a very large stage area relative to the auditorium which was on two levels with a deep balcony.
For the opening of the 1858/9 season the theatre was renamed Royal Pantheon no doubt due to Coppin’s new emphasis on theatrical performances after the closure of the Olympic Theatre and the need to find work for his performers.
Plans of former Pantheon Theatre, Crouch & Wilson architects, 1867. Victorian Public Records Office, VPRS 3686/P17, Unit 467.
Despite the large amount of money Coppin poured into the project, something like £40,000, a local recession and bad weather ultimately destroyed the financial viability of the park and he was forced to close it in March 1863. A subsequent mortgagee auction on 29th September failed to find a buyer. This was probably not helped by a flooding of the Yarra River a month earlier. Then in December came another great storm that raged for two days and flooded the site once again, but to a much greater extent, destroying the gardens.
Finally in February 1864, it was announced that Mr. Harcourt had purchased the property for conversion to a private psychiatric hospital for £4,500. Over the following years he allowed the Pantheon to be used for occasional events. Then in November 1884 the Cremorne Estate, by now reduced to 4 acres, was sold to Thomas Bent MLA for £15,500. In the following year it was subdivided and sold for house sites.
The performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/13467
Royal Haymarket Theatre & Apollo Music Hall (1862–1871)
Address: 131–135 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Architect: Peter Thomas Conlon (1830–1871)
Haymarket Theatre - wood engraving. State Library Victoria, Melbourne, image IAN01/08/90/13.
By 1862 Coppin had lost control of the Theatre Royal to Ambrose Kyte and so was in need of a new venue. On 1 March 1862, he signed a 141/2 year lease (until 1876) on a large site next to the Eastern Market owned by a wealthy squatter, Simon Staughton. The rental was £30 for the first quarter and then £600 per annum thereafter. A new company was formed to purchase the lease from Coppin and build the new complex. Coppin was the principal shareholder in this company.15 George Cornwell was appointed the contractor and commenced work that same month.
Coppin’s concept for the project was very ambitious. It was to be a complete entertainment complex consisting of shops, hotel, music hall, supper room and theatre, all on the same site. This was a relative new idea for its time. Coppin’s rationale was that a music hall would siphon off the more rowdy uncultured elements and leave the theatre for the more educated and discriminating audiences. At the time it was a convention, at least in the UK, that a music hall should have a hotel attached. Anyway financially they had a mutually beneficial relationship to each other especially for the operator. Coppin was well aware of this fact and always included extensive bar and drinking areas in his theatres.
Essentially the complex consisted of two main structures. On the Bourke Street frontage there was a hotel with the Apollo Music Hall above it in a ‘L’ shaped building, and at the rear there was the Haymarket Theatre. Patrons entered via a passageway under the front building and then into a long landscaped courtyard open to the air but surrounded by a wide colonnade giving shelter during inclement weather. This space was referred to as the ‘vestibule’. The bar and refreshment rooms, at the time referred to as the ‘hotel’, faced this space having the Apollo Hall above. From this courtyard patrons could either climb the stairs to the Apollo Hall or enter the theatre itself via a raised terrace. The front section was completed first and opened on Saturday 2 June 1862. The theatre was opened three months later on 15 September 1862. The total cost of the project was said to be £11,000.
As previously said the Apollo Music Hall sat above the hotel and consisted of a long rectangular space with a gallery at one end next to the theatre. This hall ran at right angles to Bourke Street and alongside the courtyard. The stage was at the Bourke Street end with a supper room and bar alongside it. It was claimed that the hall accommodated 1,500 patrons.
Haymarket Theatre—Bourke Street view, c.1868. Australian Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne.
With the design of the theatre, Coppin had been keen to correct the deficiencies that had existed at the Olympic and to incorporate the latest ideas found in the 1858 Adelphi Theatre, London and the Theatre Martinique, Paris. The new Adelphi was a lot more commodious and its seating considerably more comfortable than its predecessors. The Haymarket reflected this trend. Coppin also wanted to bring the actors closer to the audience, so the edge of the balconies were brought as close to the stage as possible. In fact the dress circle was only 35 feet from the stage. This ultimately caused major problems with the acoustics and sight lines from the rear areas downstairs and had to be altered two years later. Within ten days of the opening, alterations also had to be made to increase the slope of the forestage to lower the footlights and give the pit areas a better view.16
The auditorium had only two levels of balconies, in contrast to the conventional three in most theatres of this size. Its capacity was 2,500 in total, 1,800 in the stalls and pit, 300 in the dress circle, and 400 in the upper circle.17
Over the following years various alterations were made to correct its shortcomings. In 1864 the two balconies were raised and moved back into the body of the theatre to improve the sight lines in the stalls and improve acoustics generally. A new gas ‘sunlight’ replaced the earlier central chandelier.
In October 1866 the upper boxes at the rear of the circles were removed and converted to general seating.
In April 1868 the theatre was redecorated, the previous crimson scheme in the auditorium was changed to a light green scheme. The name was changed to Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, following Prince Alfred’s recent visit to Australia, in an attempt to improve the theatres declining reputation.18
On 22 September 1871, disaster struck and it was completely destroyed by fire. On its demise no one seemed to lament its fate. The Australasian wrote ‘it was the ugliest and most cheerless place of amusement in the colonies’. But on the plus side, ‘there was more space to sit in and to stretch one’s legs than at the Royal, it was better ventilated and … there was a better view of the stage than in the latter house. To be sure the eye rested on ugly beams, angles, iron rods, gaunt pillars, and a good deal of blank wall.’19
The theatre’s performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/13495
Destruction by fire, Illustrated Australian News, 9 October 1871, p.185
The only thing that remains of the theatre today is its stained glass window of Shakespeare that had proudly been positioned on the Bourke Street elevation at first floor level. It was made by James Ferguson and James Urie. Today it can be seen on level 5, in the State Library of Victoria’s Domed Reading Room.
Wikipedia Commons
Theatre Royal (1872–1933)
Address: 228–234 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Architect: George Browne (1846–1911)
Clip from Paterson Bros. bird’s-eye view from Scot’s Church 1875. State Library Victoria, Melbourne, image H6320.
Coppin professed not to believe in insurance. It was too expensive he said. But in the space of six months he lost three of his leased venues to fire. On 22 September 1871 the Haymarket & Apollo was destroyed and then the old Theatre Royal followed on 20 March 1872.
Not dissuaded, Coppin immediately set about fixing the situation. No doubt because of its premier position, he decided to concentrate his efforts on rebuilding the Theatre Royal. A new 99 year lease of the site was soon negotiated with the owner and a company was formed to build the new theatre called ‘the Theatre Royal Proprietary Association Limited’. The lease was then transferred to it and £10,000 of the £20,000 required to build the theatre was borrowed from the Commercial Bank of Australia. The architect chosen was George Browne. Within three months the theatre was more or less complete and ready for the opening on 6 November 1872.20
The old theatre had many deficiencies. The new theatre aimed to fix these problems by being better planned and having better escape and fire safety features. This was a period when building standards were changing very rapidly.
Essentially the new complex consisted of two linked sections. At the front there was a large three storey hotel designed in an ornate rococo Victorian style. Beyond that and occupying most of the site was the rear building containing the auditorium and stage area. Within it the vast new auditorium existed with three tiers of balconies in a horseshoe plan that accommodated 3,950 patrons. The stage area, dressing rooms and paint room at the rear filled nearly two thirds of this rear building. Linking the two sections was a two-storey enclosed space with an upper-level balcony on all four sides. This was known as the ‘vestibule’ and contained the refreshment bar and promenade area for patrons. This was an idea carried over from the Haymarket Theatre and considered very luxurious for the time. Most theatres of this period had very limited foyer areas. The Opera House opposite, opening in the same year, had almost none.
Coppin instigated one major change to the theatre in 1880 when the proscenium was brought forward to eliminate the stage apron.21
By a signed indenture from the company, James Cassias Williamson became the sole lessee of the theatre on 8 September 1881 and so began the rise of what later became know as ‘the Firm’ that dominated Australian theatre for the next 90 years. At about the same time this happened Coppin announced his retirement from the stage with 12 final performances.
The building was not without its critics. Dion Boucicault in 1885 found the theatre to be large, dusty and primitive, with poor audience accommodation and wretched back stage arrangements for the actors.22 In an effort to improve things J.C. Williamson had the building gutted and converted to a 3 level auditorium designed by William Pitt in 1904. However, the balconies were still held up by a forest of columns that interrupted the view of the stage. Since the early 1890s, theatres elsewhere in the world like the Palace in London were being built using cantilevered structural systems that largely eliminated columns in these areas.
With the rise of cinema in the early part of the 20th century, theatre audiences demanded even better sight lines, greater comfort and a much more intimate theatrical experience. Large draughty auditoriums like the Theatre Royal had become out of date. Consequently J.C. Williamson decided to sell the Royal and rebuild His Majesty’s Theatre, a venue that ‘the Firm’ owned around the corner in Exhibition Street and that had been burn out in 1927. The Theatre Royal finally closed its doors on 17 November 1933 and was soon demolished. On the site Manton’s built their new modern department store [now Kmart].
George Brown’s original architectural drawings of 1872 for the theatre can be found at the State Library Victoria, as can those of William Pitt’s. http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/335030
The theatre’s extensive performance history can be found at https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/venue/3085
Theatre Royal (1872) redrawn sections from Ross Thorne, Theatres in Australia, pp.14-15
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Coppin was a great risk taker. But that went with the territory if you were a theatrical entrepreneur in the 19th century. He crashed and burned many times. But after so many failures, one has to admire his perseverance and spirit. He always managed to get back on his feet and press on.
Initially Coppin’s theatres were very conservative in design. They were essentially based on the Georgian Playhouse type ie. rectangular halls with a one or two tiers of balconies with boxes in a rectangular shape. However, with the Haymarket he began to experiment with new planning ideas, even though many didn’t work out and had to be changed later. His crowning achievement must be the rebuilding of Theatre Royal in 1872. At the time of its completion, it was one of the largest and grandest theatres in the British Empire and set up the next generation of actors and entrepreneurs like J.C. Williamson to prosper and reap the financial rewards when hit shows were performed prior to the age of cinema.
Endnotes
1. SA Gazette and Colonial Register, 31 October 1846, p.1
2. SA Gazette and Colonial Register, 31 October 1846, p.2
3. Philip Parsons, Companion to Theatre in Australia, pp.471–472
4. Adelaide Times, 25 November 1850, p.3
5. Adelaide Times, 23 December 1850, p.3
6. McDougall & Vines, Port Adelaide Centre Heritage Survey 1994, p.55
7. South Australian Register, 25 July 1850, p.2
8. Adelaide Times, 19 October 1850, p.8
9. South Australian Register, 22 March 1851, p.3
10. Adelaide Times, 27 June 1851, p.3
11. McDougall & Vines, Port Adelaide Centre Heritage Survey 1994, p.56
12. Ross Thorne, Companion to Theatre in Australia, p.417
13. ibid
14. The Argus, 4 July 1856, p.3
15. Anthony Peter Horan, A History of The Haymarket/Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Monash University thesis 1982, pp.31-34
16. ibid, pp.54–59
17. The Herald, 25 September 1862, p.3
18. Anthony Peter Horan, A History of The Haymarket/Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Monash University thesis 1982, pp.60-63
19. John West, Companion to Theatre in Australia, p.266
20. Alec Bagot, Coppin the Great, pp.334–338
21. Ross Thorne, Companion to Theatre in Australia, pp.584–585
22. Ibid, p.585
Further Reading
Alec Bagot, Coppin the Great: Father of the Australian theatre, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1965
Philip Parsons (ed), Companion to Theatre in Australia, Currency Press, Sydney, 1995
Anthony Peter Horan, A History of The Haymarket/Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, Monash University thesis 1982
Ross Thorne, Theatres in Australia: An historical perspective of significant buildings, Department of Architecture, University of Sydney, 1977
John West, Theatre in Australia, Cassell Australia Ltd, 1978
Performance history at the venues can be found at: ausdstage.com.au
