With a category 1 listing, the interior of
the venerable St James Theatre in Queen Street is immortal. And so it should
be. This theatre with its circle and upper circle (The Gods) was so long the
city’s premier live performance venue. Its only close competition before 1988,
when it was hastily, illegally and unceremoniously demolished, was His
Majesty’s Theatre. I could also count the Civic, but I have always and until
recently thought of it more of a cinema than a live venue. I don’t know what St
James looks like on the inside now. I believe the last time I was in there was
for a performance of Cats in 1995. That possibly was the beginning of decline,
because I certainly did not go to any of the dance and hip-hop parties that
followed at the theatre and which illustrated
so imperfectly the St James’ diminished status and decline. But, thankfully, to date not its demolition.
Yet, it is early days for such optimism. The Herald
is reporting only that the theatre “may” have been sold to an unspecified
developer in exchange for rights to build a 32-storey apartment and retail
enclave next door. However, crucially the report states that the council has
also thrown in a complete restoration clause for the theatre. Therefore, we may
get it back—and with it a performance venue of grace and comfort (and sound
quality) that Vector Stadium cannot hope to meet, and (hopefully) provide for
us all a Myley Cyrus free zone.
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