THE NEW PRINCESS' THEATRE

Evening Star, Issue 4051, 19 February 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE NEW PRINCESS' THEATRE

The design of the interior of the • new Princess' Theatre, in course of construction, is clearly indicated through the skeleton of the work being nearly completed. It is at this stage that the character of the workmanship may be truly estimated, for the walls and scantling of the timber may be seen before being covered with architectural ornaments. The building does credit to all concerned. The deter- | mination to erect a substantial theatre in the | room of the old structure, that was destroyed ! by fire, was arrived at by Mr Sibbald, during Mr Walesa attendance in Wellington last session, as a member of the House of Representatives; and during his absence the business of Messrs Mason and Wales was entrusted to Mr Stephenson, a young architect not long since arrived from Great Britain, where, however, he had already become known through the special attention he has given to acoustics. The designs were prepared by him and approved by Mr Wales, and they are being carefully and efficiently carried out by Mr Walter Bell, the contractor. The rubble and brick walling, for constructive workmanship, cannot be excelled, and the woodwork, so far as it has gone, is equally good. The new Princess's Theatre is so situated that it cannot externally be made an ornamental building. It stands back from the street line on a single section of ground, and is hiddeu on every si Ic. In front shops will be erected; on the one side are the Corporation offices, and on the other the premises of Messrs Ross and Glendining; while there is a large space occupied by buildings between the back of it and Stafford street. But modern theatres owe little of their attraction to external architectural beauty. Evse of access and. egress, comfort and elegance inside, scenery worth witnessing, and high class musical and dramatic performances are the true incentives to attend a theatre. The first two fall within the province of the architect, and his arrangements must aid and facilitate the last, although the ultimate effort rests with the actors themselves. In old times little was required beyond rom for seating a numerous audience, and a stage on which the dramatic representation could be carried on without those accessories of scenery and artistic effects that modern improvements in art have rendered! possible. Although miny of the Greek and Roman theatres of old exceeded even their temples in extent and beauty, there is reason to believe there was little scenery employed. On the modern stage the effort is not only to move an audience by oratorical excellence, but to render illusion as complete as possible by providing s striking and appropriate picture. A novelist or a poet describes scenes, and tells of what passed amid them ; the scenic artist and mechanician weave their imaginings into pictures that give them a reality for the time being; and the actors complete the illusion by becoming living representatives of the ; characters described. Much more, therefore, is needed and expected than of old ; and consequently, more varied arrangements • are requisite for audiences and performers. Both these points have been s6 carefully attended to in the design of the theatre that we are not exaggerating when we state that, although there are larger theatres in the Colonies, in Europe, and America than the Princess Taeatre will be, there are none that will exceed it in adaptation of design to the purpose for which it is being constructed. Nor is it even comparatively insignificant, for in size and stage accommodation it is superior to most and little inferior to the best. The opera-houses of Europe are generally larger than dramatic theatres. The two largest are La Scala, at Milan, which ha 3 an area for the auditory of 105 ft in length by 87ft in width, and a stage depth of 77ft. The next in area is San C irlo, at Naples, 100 ft long by 87ft wide, for the auditory ; and with a stage 74ft deep. The first was built in 1775, and the second restored in 1817, being originally built in 1735 i It would be dry and uninteresting to detail the dimensions of all the theatres in Europe, for tie mere purpose of comparison; so wc will content ourselves with citing only a few more, in order to show that Dunedin, a city less than thirty years old, takes a very respectable rank among the cities of the World, in its arrangements for encouragment of the fine aHs. It is scarcely needless to refer to the Opera Houses of London, The old opera-house, built in 1790 by Novosielsky, had no proscenium, and it is set down in a list before us as "very meaii"—a character, speaking from memory, it richly deserved. Yet it served the purpose until burnt,down in 1867. It had only a width of curtain of 40ft, an extreme breadth of 60ft, and a stage depth of 35ft ; while from the curtain to the back of the pit measured 89ft. Covent Garden Theatre, when rebuilt by Sir R. Smirke in 1809, was still more contracted, excepting as to stage accommodation. Since the fire of 1856 its design by E. Barry has been much improved, and it has an area for the aud'tory of 89ft by 80ft, with a stage depth of 89ft. There are, however, other theatres in London of worldwide celebrity that are of far less imposing dimensions. Of these we will specify only four. Drury Lane has 70ft depth of auditory, by 70ft in width, with a stage depth of 48ft; the Haymarket auditory is 57ft long, 48ft wide, and stage depth 33ft; the Lyceum has an auditory 55ft long, 52ft wide, and 40ft stage ; and the Adelphi 51ft length of auditory, 56ft of width, and stage depth 47ft. We are now in a position to judge of the value of the new Princes Theatre in its adaptation to theatrical purposes. The .entire length of the interior is 115 ft, by a width of 66ft. Of this area the auditory will occupy 74ft, aud the stage a, depth of 41ft;

| *o, with the exception of Drury Lmo, it will be larger than three oi the leading theatres in London. Nor do the ample entrances to the pit and stalls reduce the stage width, as they are below the level of it. The entrauce to the dress circle will be 10ft wide, opening into High street. There are two entrances to the pit and stalls, each 8 Aft wide, with other openings should it ever be desirable to rapidly emit/ the theatre. The area of the pit is 6«ft by 65ft, and of the stalls 9ft by 66ft. The height from the floor of the pit to the lowest part of the dress circle is 13ft, and this affords ample room for the tallest spectator to have a perfect view of the stage from the extreme back of the pit. The total height of the building is 60ft. It is evident that in order effec-

tually to provide scenic arrangements and dresses many apartments are required which ! must be hidden from view. The old theatre, springing as it did out of digging requirements, was defective in many of these conveniences ; and everywhere—whether in Europe or the Colonies—it is necessary to economise space so as to concentrate all requisite operations into as small an area as possible. Ground is valuable while sky space only costs the price of climbing up. The architect has availed himself of this privilege of freedom to encroach upon eternal space, and has placed the artist's studio, the dressing-rooms, and the carpenter's shop around the stage, and near the roof of that part of the building ; access being obtained to them by corridors and stairs that do not interfere with stage operations. We fancy it was the iron walls of these elevated aHkra that offended the ea o de eye of a reporter of one of our contemporaries, who imagined such lofty pofitions being public, or nobody's property, should only be graced with architecture that would become angels. His ajsthetic aspirations might have been satisfied with the reflection that it was within those iron walls that angelic forms were decorated and scenes were prepared that, placed on the stage below, will give it the charm of fairy land. We imagine our contemporary's scribe is Colonial born and educated, and that his knowledge of what theatres should be, and what they are, is confined to his fervid imagination of propriety. If what is seen and heard inside is artistic, nobody will grumble at the turrets in which preparation for public exhibition is made.

As below the stage many of the scenes are moved and scenic effects produced, ample room is required for the working of the necessary mechanism. This is being provided by Mr Huntley, an able mechanician, whoiß preparing all the appliances required. We have seen a moJel of the stage and stage machinery prepared by that geatleman. The machinery is simple and effective, and we have no doubt will much facilitate the production of stage effects. It is intended to place the most scientific appliances of this age of science at the service of the scenic artists. As the work has not yet progressed so much as to enable the workmen to lay the flooring, little more can be said on the subject. It is estimated that when finished the theatre will accommodate 1,500 persons with comfort to themselves. The pit will contain about 1,000 ; the stalls 250 to 300. The space in the circle will be ample, both for sitting and moving about. Arouud it in fact there will be a promenade 14ft wide—a convenience that will be fully appreciated by those who remember the straits through which they generally have to pass in moving from one part of a place of amusement to another. Lastly, Messrs Mason and Wales have complied with the proprietor's desire to have the theatre thoroughly ventilated on arrangements similar to those partially applied to the old theatre when altered, under Mr Bell's direction, by which it was so muf-h improved. Passengers in Manse street, on looking at the wall of the theatre, may observe a row of openings nearly as high as the eaves. These openings are for the admission of fresh air ; and as the comfort with which it is breathed depends upon its purity, it is drawn from a height at which it is not likely to be contaminated with exhalations from the earth. As draughts can only be avoided by air being supplied in ample quantities, provision has been made for the purpose. There are eighteen air flues for the supply of the pit with fresh air, and eighteen for the dress circle. The discharge chamber for heated and impure air is to be above the gasalier and through louvre boards into the open air. The peculiarity of this system is that it is self-regulating; and the supply of fresh air being received below continually forces the warm and vitiated air upwards, and ultimately expels it without any sensible effect upon the audience, who can only perceive the benefit through not being conscious of suffering the ill effects they experience in other crowded buildings. In principle it is identical with Mr Tobin's system, which has been much lauded and made the subject of a patent at Home. In details it is much superior, and although Messrs Mason and Wales do not assume the responsibility of the success or failure of of the plan, they have so arranged its details as to give it every chance of success. Mr Sibbald hopes to have the theatre so far completed as to be able to open it at the coming races. It may not be finished—it may be a theatre in the rough, offensive to the sensibility of the «Times's' reporter; but old colonists remember days gone by, when canvas served to exclude histrionic art from the gaze of those who would not pay to witness its triumphs. There may be panels without fresco, pillars without capitals, ceiling without paint—all this and more they will excuse if there be good dramatic scenery and acting, combined with comfort—and these they may calculate upon, now that the weather has given opportunity of pushing the work forward.