Reminiscing on 150 years of Her Maj

HER Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat has stood on Lydiard Street since 1875 as a place of culture and entertainment.

This year, the historic building celebrates 150 years at the heart of the performing arts community in Ballarat.

The building includes a double-balconied auditorium and recently underwent a $16.3 million upgrade to make the facility fully accessible.

“Ballarat’s got a really rich history in the performing arts and the theatre itself is Australia’s oldest continually operating theatre,” City of Ballarat Manager of Cultural Venues Kristy Witmitz said.

“It’s a real marker of not only [Ballarat’s] history but also the way the community connects through that too.

“It hadn’t seen any real major works over the course of its lifetime … the last stage of works have enabled changes to the fabric to the building to its [being] accessible by modern day standards.”

The Royal South Street Society has almost 130 years of association with the venue, first using the theatre for competition in 1896 when it outgrew a hall on Skipton Street.

Following a grant from the State Government under Henry Bolte, the society purchased the theatre in 1965 after a Hoyts Cinema on the premises closed.

Dressing rooms were added, the theatre was upgraded, and it was renamed the Memorial Theatre.

Royal South Street competitions ran in the venue for another 25 years, when it was discovered in 1987 that the venue was Australia’s oldest continually operating theatre.

The Royal South Street Society applied for funding to restore the theatre, but when the evaluation committee realised its national significance, it decided that it needed to be owned by the City of Ballarat for funding of the restoration to proceed.

On 5 November 1987, the building was handed over to the City of Ballarat and a caveat was placed on the title to protect Royal South Street’s ongoing interest and use of the property.

“It was a situation in the best interests of the future competition and the best interests of the future of the building that it would be restored,” Royal South Street Society executive officer Judy-Ann Quilliam said.

“That is the only reason why it changed hands, and we have continued to use it since then.”

Ms Quilliam said Her Majesty’s Theatre will always be the heart and home of the society.

“We are delighted to know that we are going to be back in there this year,” she said.

“For over 25 years, it was actually the home of Royal South Street so there are generations of people in our region and across the state and the country who performed on that stage as the home of Royal South Street.

“There’s something magical about performing on that stage and in the theatre and that’s what people remember.”

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and closure for renovations, the society will return with dance, calisthenics and an overall showcase performance of winners at Her Majesty’s in 2025.

The last time BLOC Music Theatre staged a show in the theatre was its 2021 performance of Mamma Mia!, and chairman Jason Muller said the organisation is also looking forward to returning to the Her Majesty’s stage this year.

The group will stage The Wizard of Oz in June, and in 2026 it hopes to return to one senior and one junior show each year.

“We haven’t been able to work in that space and it’s detrimental to us … it’s one of the best theatres in the state so we are very lucky to have that space,” Mr Muller said.

“We’d like to get back on to our schedule of being able to do our major production in May of every year as that’s been interrupted for quite some time.”

As the story of Her Majesty’s Theatre continues, Ballarat Lyric Theatre president Michael Whitehead encouraged the Ballarat community to support the venue.

“Because it is run by the council for the community … it’s really a community facility, which is a cost burden on the city, but something that is well worth it and well worth supporting,” he said.

“I think people should see if they have an interest in the theatre by going along and experiencing it, and I think they’ll find they will get that excitement without having to spend a lot of money or do a lot of travelling.

“We have something special on our back door.”