State Theatre

About

The State Theatre is a 2,034 seat heritage listed theatre located at 47–51 Market Street, in the Sydney central business district in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The theatre was designed by Henry Eli White with assistance from John Eberson and built between 1926 and 1929. It hosts film screenings, live theatre and musical performances, and since 1974 it has been the home of the annual Sydney Film Festival. It is also known as State Building and Wurlitzer Organ. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The State Theatre is a tiered and raked theatre with a proscenium arch and a maximum seating capacity of 2034 seats. The seating is arranged with 828 seats in the Stalls at stage level, 426 in the Mezzanine Lounge and 780 seats in the Dress Circle (upper most level).

The theatre was designed by the eminent Sydney based, New Zealand born theatre architect Henry White, the designer of some 120 theatres in Australia and New Zealand. It remains as a rare and pre-eminent example of his firm's work. The design of the State Theatre, with its fly-tower stages, was based on original design ideas produced by the Chicago–based American theatre architect John Eberson in co-operation with local architect Henry White. After visiting the US to see Eberson's work, White was able to eliminate all columns supporting the upper balconies and the interior also reflecting the American's influence.

The Union Theatres company purchased the site in 1926, the location of the former offices of The Evening News newspaper. Construction of the State Theatre commenced the following year in 1927 with an estimated construction budget of £ 400,000. The project proposed a grand new theatre with 12 floors of retail above and included two basements on what was then described as a 'valuable city site'. The site area of 2516m² (27092 square feet) was excavated to a depth of 14.6m (47 feet) below footpath level, and 2300m³ (2988 cubic yards) of stone and soil removed to create the theatre volume and basement spaces. The building reached a height of 56.8m (186½ feet). The construction used almost one million bricks, 60 tons of lime mortar, 2300 tons of Portland cement, 2500 tons of construction steel, and 35,000 pieces of oregon timber. By the time construction was completed the building costs had increased by two and half times reaching almost £ 1,000,000 or $94 million in 2023 terms.

The State Theatre opened on 7 June 1929. The theatre was envisioned by Stuart Doyle, owner of Union Theatres and the architect Henry White. It was to be seen as 'The Empire's Greatest Theatre' and was designed as a picture palace when such monuments to movies were seen at their grandest and most spectacular. During its first week patrons were offered 'entertainment of unparalleled magnificence'. The opening night's performance featured noted bandleader Will Prior who was described in the program as a conductor capable of lifting 'jazz to perfection in a sublime miscellany of melodious rhythm'. The theatre opened with the Ernst Lubitsch film The Patriot on 7 June 1929, accompanied by Price Dunlavy billed as a 'debonair genius' playing on the Wurlitzer organ.

Originally seating approximately 2,572 patrons, it was never as large as its namesake, the 3,371 seat State Theatre that opened four months earlier on 23 February 1929 in Melbourne. However, it was much more ornate, having been elaborately designed by Sydney architect Henry Eli White, who based his work on that of American theatre architect John Eberson, and was invited to work with him on this theatre in Australia. The theatre building has Gothic -style street facades and an elaborate late Gothic street lobby complete with fan vaulting, a Neoclassical domed stairhall, elaborately detailed foyers and lobbies, while the main auditorium is a richly detailed Baroque styled space with three tiers of seating and a coffered domed ceiling.

The first sound film screened was Paramount's A Dangerous Woman on 29 June 1929. The last all silent film screened (before later revivals) was United Artists' Evangeline on 6 December 1929. A 1929 Union Theatres advertisement for the 'all talking' Woman Trap and silent film Evangeline also promoted the additional entertainment provided including Will Prior’s State Band, 'The Radio Idea' featuring Marino and Mona, John Warren and the State Beauty Ballet, and Price Dunlavy known as the 'Wurlitzer Wizard'. Cheaper early morning sessions were offered and special State Concession weeknight prices were listed for different seating areas; Back Dress Circle 3s/3d ($15.30), Unreserved Circle 4s/4d ($20.35), Reserved Circle 5s/5d ($25.45), Royal Mezzanine Lounge Unreserved 4s/4d ($20.35) and Reserved 5s/5d ($25.45), [2023 equivalent prices shown in brackets].

Only two years after opening the State, Union Theatres was feeling the financial impacts of the Depression across its cinema chain and was liquidated in November 1931 for accumulated debts and interest, and purchased soon after by Greater Union Theatres Limited who have remained continuous owners of the State Theatre property. Greater Union was later known as Amalgamated Holdings Limited (AHL), Event and now EVT Limited but is essentially the same company.

A newsreel theatre, the first in Australia, was opened in the basement of the building in 1932. It later became a screening room. Other attractions included Australian soprano Rene Maxwell and the State Beauty Ballet billed as 'a beauty bevy with amazing ability'. The stage had then been set for many performers and films to transport and entertain future customers. After providing an outlet and a venue for entertainment during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the next decade saw the events of World War II. Leading up to and during the war, patrons were able to view the latest news through the theatre's regular screenings of the Movietone News. The State played its part by continuing to provide an escape for all those directly and indirectly involved in the conflict, with films starring actors such as Cary Grant, Ronald Colman and Joan Crawford.

After the end of the war in 1945, the State once again became the place where Sydneysiders were entertained. The 1950s saw the beginning of Australian multiculturalism with the first waves of post-war immigration. Increasing affluence and economic stability fuelled rapid expansion of new outer lying suburbs and helped to create the so-called ' baby boom ' generation. As television was far from an everyday household item, audiences still visited the State to watch live and filmed entertainment. A new generation of Hollywood and local actors appeared on screens during this decade which maintained interest in cinema. Film attractions included James Stewart in Bend of the River in 1952 and Virginia McKenna starring in an adaptation of Neville Shute classic book A Town Like Alice in 1956.

The 1960s saw Australia in a period of radical change reflected in the growth of pop culture and increasing opposition to the Vietnam War, which mirrored social upheaval worldwide. In times of change, people often look to entertainment as a release and again the State Theatre provided the outlet. The changing times are reflected in the films on offer which in 1960 included Yul Bryner in Once More, with Feeling! while by 1969 the sexual farce Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? was being shown.

The growing of permissiveness in 1970s Australian society and the rejection of more 'traditional values' is seen in the anti-censorship demonstrations surrounding the film Medium Cool. In terms of film entertainment, the increasing penetration of television into Australian homes during the late 1960s and early 1970s saw filmmakers turn towards the Hollywood 'blockbuster' as a means of returning audiences to the cinema. Such films included blockbusters like The Godfather and Jaws. The State Theatre often held premieres of blockbusters in the 1960s and 1970s, one of the most successful was Count Yorga, Vampire. a low budget horror movie, which was such a hit to the extent that, as one newspaper reported, police had to be brought in to control the crowds in Market Street.

In 1974 the State first hosted the Sydney Film Festival, where it has remained ever since, using the theatre in cinema mode for two to three weeks every June.

The 1980s were a time of significant change for the State Theatre. After a noteworthy restoration of its facilities, the State reopened in 1980 with Bette Midler starring in the concert film Divine Madness. Two years earlier the 'Divine Ms M' had in person, enjoyed a series of triumphant live concerts at the theatre. On the screen, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, came to earth in 1982 and made a home at the State. This decade saw the State Theatre return to its more traditional roots with numerous live acts and musical theatre performances.

Like many cities, Sydney has lost many historic live music venues as property developers converted them to commercial and residential uses. However the State Theatre has continued to be among the premier venues, a position reinforced with additional renovations undertaken in the early 1990s. Full theatrical runs were undertaken with stage musicals such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Secret Garden and Anything Goes. Live performance returned from the 1990s, with acts such as Rudolph Nureyev, Shirley MacLaine, Shirley Bassey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Harry Connick Jr. Other major musical artists to have played at the State Theatre include; Prince, Bob Dylan, Morrissey, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, Sufjan Stevens, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Barnes and Chris Isaak.

In 2012 plans were revealed for a $32 million renovation of the theatre to create an orchestra pit and increase the backstage area to improve the theatre's capability for live performances as a lyric theatre. The plan failed to proceed after the theatre owners did not acquire the retail building located adjacent the stage that would have allowed expansion to the west. The theatre owners later purchased the adjoining property 'Dudley House' a seven-storey building at 468−472 George Street and the neighbouring three-storey building at 458−466 George Street, formerly the Globe Theatre, built in 1915. The buildings were acquired by Event (now EVT) in 2017 for a price of $116 million. These purchases in addition to the earlier purchase of the adjacent Gowings Building in 2006 for $68.6 million have created a consolidated site of around 4700 m² under single ownership increasing options for future improvements and additions to the theatre.

The theatre was designed by the eminent Sydney based, New Zealand born theatre architect Henry White, the designer of some 120 theatres in Australia and New Zealand. It remains as a rare and pre-eminent example of his firm's work. The design of the State Theatre, with its fly-tower stages, was based on original design ideas produced by the Chicago–based American theatre architect John Eberson in co-operation with local architect Henry White. After visiting the US to see Eberson's work, White was able to eliminate all columns supporting the upper balconies and the interior also reflecting the American's influence.

The Union Theatres company purchased the site in 1926, the location of the former offices of The Evening News newspaper. Construction of the State Theatre commenced the following year in 1927 with an estimated construction budget of £ 400,000. The project proposed a grand new theatre with 12 floors of retail above and included two basements on what was then described as a 'valuable city site'. The site area of 2516m² (27092 square feet) was excavated to a depth of 14.6m (47 feet) below footpath level, and 2300m³ (2988 cubic yards) of stone and soil removed to create the theatre volume and basement spaces. The building reached a height of 56.8m (186½ feet). The construction used almost one million bricks, 60 tons of lime mortar, 2300 tons of Portland cement, 2500 tons of construction steel, and 35,000 pieces of oregon timber. By the time construction was completed the building costs had increased by two and half times reaching almost £ 1,000,000 or $94 million in 2023 terms.

The State Theatre opened on 7 June 1929. The theatre was envisioned by Stuart Doyle, owner of Union Theatres and the architect Henry White. It was to be seen as 'The Empire's Greatest Theatre' and was designed as a picture palace when such monuments to movies were seen at their grandest and most spectacular. During its first week patrons were offered 'entertainment of unparalleled magnificence'. The opening night's performance featured noted bandleader Will Prior who was described in the program as a conductor capable of lifting 'jazz to perfection in a sublime miscellany of melodious rhythm'. The theatre opened with the Ernst Lubitsch film The Patriot on 7 June 1929, accompanied by Price Dunlavy billed as a 'debonair genius' playing on the Wurlitzer organ.

Originally seating approximately 2,572 patrons, it was never as large as its namesake, the 3,371 seat State Theatre that opened four months earlier on 23 February 1929 in Melbourne. However, it was much more ornate, having been elaborately designed by Sydney architect Henry Eli White, who based his work on that of American theatre architect John Eberson, and was invited to work with him on this theatre in Australia. The theatre building has Gothic -style street facades and an elaborate late Gothic street lobby complete with fan vaulting, a Neoclassical domed stairhall, elaborately detailed foyers and lobbies, while the main auditorium is a richly detailed Baroque styled space with three tiers of seating and a coffered domed ceiling.

The first sound film screened was Paramount's A Dangerous Woman on 29 June 1929. The last all silent film screened (before later revivals) was United Artists' Evangeline on 6 December 1929. A 1929 Union Theatres advertisement for the 'all talking' Woman Trap and silent film Evangeline also promoted the additional entertainment provided including Will Prior’s State Band, 'The Radio Idea' featuring Marino and Mona, John Warren and the State Beauty Ballet, and Price Dunlavy known as the 'Wurlitzer Wizard'. Cheaper early morning sessions were offered and special State Concession weeknight prices were listed for different seating areas; Back Dress Circle 3s/3d ($15.30), Unreserved Circle 4s/4d ($20.35), Reserved Circle 5s/5d ($25.45), Royal Mezzanine Lounge Unreserved 4s/4d ($20.35) and Reserved 5s/5d ($25.45), [2023 equivalent prices shown in brackets].