01/03/2026
TAS BOOK: THE HISTORY of THE THEATRE ROYAL (1843) by MICHAEL ROE
This is a small paperback book describing a short history of the well known Theatre Royal, in Hobart.
In 1834 a consortium of Hobart Town’s business leaders was formed with the aim of establishing a permanent theatre for the rapidly expanding colony. The theatre was designed by Peter Degraves, founder of Cascade, Australia’s oldest brewery, and has walls of convict-carved stone. The building design was approved by John Lee Archer, Colonial Engineer.
Built among the public houses, brothels, factories and tiny workers’ cottages of Wapping, the theatre opened in 1837.
It offered its original patrons entertainment ranging from music hall to cockfights and could even help to quench their thirsts at The Shades – a seedy tavern that operated beneath the auditorium with its own entrance into the theatre pit.
Prostitutes, sailors and general riffraff would enter the pit with tankards full and create all sorts of drama of their own, much to the displeasure of the gentry in the boxes. During intervals, drunken prostitutes could be seen bounding across the seats making a bee-line for the conveniences.
Over the years, the Theatre Royal has been remodelled, refurbished and restored. The addition of the gallery in the 1850s, new decoration to the auditorium in the 1890s are just a few of the contributions that successive generations of Tasmanians have made to their theatre.
Saved from demolition several times – most notably in the late 1940s when Sir Laurence Olivier was among the many to leap to its defence – the theatre has withstood a disastrous fire, public criticism and the rigours of age.
$20
Lenah Valley
