Page 25 - CinemaRecord #85

Above and below:
The Kings Theatre as different nightclubs. Images: Garry Gillard
THE KING'S THEATRE

The King's Theatre site was from 1897 an open-air venue
called The Olde Englishe Fayre. The King’s Theatre was
built and opened in 1904. It was originally known as the
Dalkeith Opera House because its owner James Gallop (of
the family of former Premier Geoff Gallop) lived in
Dalkeith. The project consisted of the theatre and five shops
on a site adjoining the Freemasons Hotel, (now Sail and
Anchor Hotel) at that time also owned by James Gallop

Entry was between shops into a foyer on the ground floor,
to stalls in the auditorium and a staircase led to supper
rooms over the shops, accessible to the dress circle, with a
balcony over the pavement.

The large, two storey, theatre building was designed to
accommodate 1,200 people. The venue was used by a range

of promoters presented live performances from concerts, pantomime,
plays to follies featuring singers, dancers, musical and acrobatic
numbers.

It was also used to screen films and as a boxing venue. The building
still stands with its rendered brick, decorative cornice, stuccoed
parapet and pediment. The theatre had a sliding roof, a large fly
system and twelve dressing rooms.

After closing as a theatre in the 1920s, the theatre fittings were
removed and the building used as a panel beater’s workshop. Since
the 1970s it has been used as a nightclub.

It is currently Metropolis Fremantle. The exterior remains, as seen
in the photo from a time when the nightclub was called Visions.

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