St James' Hall, Sydney

St James' Hall, sometimes written as St James's Hall, was a building which stood at 171 Phillip Street, Sydney, near King Street. It figured prominently in the history of small theatre in Australia. Owned by, and on the same parcel of land as St James' Church of England, it was close to tram and bus services and the St James railway station.

(Not to be confused with the multi-storey St James' Theatre in Elizabeth Street opposite the station, built by Henry White in 1926 for Hugh J. Ward and the Fuller brothers.)

With its location and modest size and rent, it was the venue of choice for concerts and recitals by the likes of Brunton Gibb, Ethel Lang, Lindley Evans, Idwal Jenkins and Wilfred Thomas.

In 1950, the Workers' Educational Association was offered lease of the hall and the State government agreed to increase the organisation's subsidy by ₤A770pa. But it was rather dilapidated and needed around ₤A7000 spent on refitting and refurbishment. ₤4000 of this was to be raised from its members for provision of offices, lecture rooms and a bookshop and ₤A3000 to fit out the theatre (mostly for seats and lighting) and to be raised from the theatre-going public. An appeal was instigated with assistance of the Sydney Morning Herald.[1] After delays which forced the postponement of the first major function, a play by Sydney University Dramatic Society opened on 15 July. The WEA moved its headquarters from Albert Street late in September.[2]

It held 300 seats with a narrow (just three deep) gallery around three walls. Before 1940 it was mostly used by amateur dramatic societies, but also for public meetings, symposia, receptions, competitions, examinations and public lectures.

The Sydney Players Club (interchangeably called "Players Club") was the chief user of the hall between 1931 and 1948. The oldest of Sydney's "little theatres", it was founded by W. F. Jackson, S. R. Irving, Winchester Ford and other members of Gregan McMahon's Sydney Repertory Theatre after that group disbanded. Alice Gould was its secretary for many years.[3]

The John Alden Company played Shakespeare (and other dramas) there in 1950 and 1951.

Sydney John Kay took over the lease in February 1952, naming it the Mercury Theatre for his (professional) troupe, Mercury Theatres Pty Ltd which was founded by himself and Peter Finch in 1946[4] and included such notables as Alexander Archdale, Rod Taylor and Lyndall Barbour. He moved his company from Killara with the intention of presenting three plays in rotation six nights a week, but despite his actors accepting lower fees than they could earn in radio, in three years his losses proved unsupportable.[5]

The last tenant was William Orr's Phillip Street Theatre (previously Playgoers' Cooperative) from May 1954. His programme of topical revues proved popular and brought to public attention actors and writers who would go on to success on television. When the hall was demolished in 1961 the company moved to the Australian Hall at 150 Elizabeth St, renaming itself the "Phillip Theatre". Names associated with this era include Bud Tingwell, Margo Lee, Gordon Chater, Max Oldaker, . Imported stars included Joyce Grenfell.

In 1961, the Church (which still owned the building) had it demolished to make way for a 13-storey office block. It included a small theatre with more modern and comfortable facilities with a commensurate increase in rent.

Selected Productions

Note: This list is incomplete and only dramatic productions are listed. Most are opening nights with no indication of successive performances if any.

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 16 June 1950
  2. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 16 September 1950
  3. ↑ "Amateurs carry on stage traditions" Sydney Morning Herald 18 March 1937
  4. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 13 July 1946
  5. ↑ Stephen Vagg, Finch, fry and factories: a brief history of Mercury Theatre, Australasian Drama Studies, 50, Apr 2007, 18-35

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