The
National Theatre
is a 783-seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the
Melbourne
bayside suburb of
St Kilda
, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets. The building was constructed in 1921 as The Victory Theatre (3000 seat cinema), rebuilt as 2550 seat cinema in 1928, finally converted to a live venue in 1972/4 with 783 seats. The stalls seating was converted to studios and rehearsal rooms for the schools.
National Theatre Movement
[
edit
]
The National Theatre Movement (NTM)
[1]
was established in 1935 by
soprano
Gertrude Johnson
.
[2]
After returning from an overseas career that included performing at
Covent Garden
, Johnson was dismayed at the lack of training and performing opportunities for Australian artists in their own country.
To that end the National Theatre was founded along with a network of companies throughout Australia. The Ballarat National Theatre was founded in 1938 along with other branches in Heidelberg, Yallourn and Swan Hill.
[3]
Included in the network were an opera school (1935), drama school (1936) and ballet school (1939). Production companies (three arts festivals) ran through the 1940s and 1950s.
The National Theatre Movement previously occupied the Village Theatre in
Toorak
(destroyed by fire in April 1962) and then purchased (but not occupied) the
Empress Theatre
in
Prahran
, which was destroyed by fire in June 1971.
Theatre building
[
edit
]
The building now occupied by the National Theatre was built in the
Beaux Arts
style as a 3000-seat
cinema
and opened in 1921 as the Victory Theatre. In 1928 it was rebuilt in a more luxurious manner, with fewer seats, a laarger balcony, and a much grander foyer.
[4]
In 1971
Hoyts
(a company that operates movie theaters) offered the company the Victory Theatre for conversion to a live theatre and rehearsal spaces. The current theatre consists of the original Victory dress circle extended with the addition of a sizeable stage and a fly tower. The original stalls were converted into five studios for
drama
,
opera
and
ballet
. One of the studios is itself a theatrette. The theatre opened in its current guise in August 1974, while the schools and administration moved there in September 1972.
Drama school
[
edit
]
The National Drama School dates from 1936 and is the oldest in Australia. Drama school alumni include
Bella Heathcote
,
Kat Stewart
,
Richard Cawthorne
,
Brett Tucker
, Janet Andrewartha, Jackie Woodburne, Ngaire Dawn Fair,
Lawrence Mooney
,
Geraldine Quinn
, and
Esther Hannaford
. The current director of drama for the National Drama School is Dr Jo Loth. Past directors have included Trent Baker, Ken Boucher, Dr Kim Durban, Babs MacMillan and the late Joan Harris (AM).
Ballet school
[
edit
]
The National Ballet school dates from 1939 and is the oldest in Australia. Alumni include Amber Scott, Jarryd Madden.
The ballet school currently conducts
Royal Academy of Dance
examinations and has ballet performances in the middle of the year and in December. The current artistic director of The National Ballet School is
Damian Smith
. Past dance artistic directors have included
Kathleen Gorham
,
Gailene Stock
, Marilyn Jones and Beverly Jane Fry.
Opera school
[
edit
]
The opera school merged with the
Victorian College of the Arts
in 1980. It was closed by the VCA in 2006 but the National Theatre now supports the new Opera School (Melbourne) established independently in 2008.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Note:
this includes theatres in the Melbourne City Centre and its immediate surrounds, not the
Greater Melbourne
metropolitan area.
|
|
|
---|
|
Precincts
| |
---|
Entertainment
| |
---|
Shopping centres
| |
---|
Public museums
| |
---|
Institutions
| |
---|
Notable structures
| |
---|
Sports venues
| |
---|
Parks and gardens
| |
---|
Transport
| |
---|