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In June of 1987, there was an
exciting development. A number of
marble slabs were donated to me from
the Regent Theatre in Adelaide during
renovations to that building. This paved
the way for a marble staircase in my
theatre. Three years later, work finally
began on the interior of my theatre.
When a friend saw how the theatre was
beginning to take shape, he donated
more marble, and a leadlight window
(from the Regent South Yarra),
assorted plaster work, carpet, and some
theatre seats, all of which he had once
used in a residence Regent Theatre
which he had assembled in his home in
Melbourne. When he retired to
Adelaide, the theatre was dismantled
and most fittings put into storage.
These acquisitions naturally required
more modifications to the original,
fairly simple concept, so the theatre
design was becoming increasingly more
grandiose.
The proportions for the theatre were
first worked out using cardboard mock-
ups. I wanted to try to keep everything
to an appropriate scale. As a
consequence, many things had to be
custom made for this new theatre,
which sometimes meant long delays.
During these times work progressed on
things like restoration of damaged
plasterwork or the old theatre seats.
Some tasks were straight forward. For
example, painting the interior walls of
the theatre took just four days. Other
tasks took more time than anticipated.
Completing all of the ornate finishes
including some delicate gold leaf work
spread out over six months. Unexpected
setbacks slowed progress. An
exceptionally wet winter in 1992
resulted in the theatre being flooded
several times. A deep drainage pit with
an automatic water pump and
additional drains had to be installed to
prevent this from happening again. At
times like this, I began to wonder
whether the project should have ever
been started !
Doubts were swept aside as the
theatre came closer to completion.
Entering "the shed" was like entering
another world, which never failed to
amaze a growing number of visitors.
The time eventually came to begin
adding furnishings. In September 1994
the carpet was laid, and soon after,
Top: The foyer in September 1992
curtains were finished and a silver
Centre: The auditorium under construction, February 1992.
screen installed.
Above: John Thiele laces crystals into the main chandelier, December 1993.
Photo by D. Wass.

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