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Arrow Theatre
37°51′00″S 144°57′54″E / 37.8500°S 144.9650°E The Arrow Theatre was an Australian theatre in the Melbourne suburb of Middle Park. It was located at 1–3 Armstrong Street, opposite the Middle Park railway station (a tram stop since electrification). It seated only 200 persons but had a stage large enough for ambitious productions.
In July 1914 a two-storey building opposite the Middle Park railway station was advertised for sale by auction "suitable for picture theatre or other form of public entertainment". The building, known as the Middle Park Hall, was part of the insolvent estate of one Edward Hocken Watts, and had two shops on the Armstrong Street frontage. The hall continued to be used for a variety of functions — dances, public meetings, and perhaps occasional film showings. It is almost certain this building, at No.3 Armstrong Street, is the "Middle Park picture theatre" refurbished by Sydney Blacker Turnbull (a professional engineer) and his volunteers.
The Melbourne Repertory Club, under the direction of Sydney Turnbull and Lorna Forbes, repurposed the old picture theatre at 1–3 Armstrong Street using volunteer labour.
In March 1945 they opened the hall as a little theatre, naming it Melbourne Repertory Theatre. The freehold of the building was owned by a St Kilda woman who, as a condition of a generous lease, stipulated that it could only be used for "live drama of the spoken word". The Club's first production in their new home was Sheridan's School For Scandal, directed by the former Shakespeatean actor Lorna Forbes.
Others to use the stage included the Australian Repertory Players, whose first production there was Euripides' Alcestis, with an all-female cast directed by Maie Hoban in November 1945.
In October 1945 the Repertory Club played Ray Lawler's Hal's Belles, with Frank Thring, in a professional debut, playing a modern-day reincarnation of Henry VIII.
The Club and the Melbourne Repertory Theatre folded in December 1949, following the prolonged illness of its founder, Sydney Turnbull. His wife, Lorna Turnbull (the Lorna Forbes mentioned above was a different person) kept the movement going with considerable assistance from volunteers, but their final production was J. B. Priestley's I Have Been Here Before in December 1949.
In 1951 Frank Thring took over the lease, and had the building refurbished and redecorated by Frances Mary Burke, a well-known interior designer.
Arrow Theatre
37°51′00″S 144°57′54″E / 37.8500°S 144.9650°E The Arrow Theatre was an Australian theatre in the Melbourne suburb of Middle Park. It was located at 1–3 Armstrong Street, opposite the Middle Park railway station (a tram stop since electrification). It seated only 200 persons but had a stage large enough for ambitious productions.
In July 1914 a two-storey building opposite the Middle Park railway station was advertised for sale by auction "suitable for picture theatre or other form of public entertainment". The building, known as the Middle Park Hall, was part of the insolvent estate of one Edward Hocken Watts, and had two shops on the Armstrong Street frontage. The hall continued to be used for a variety of functions — dances, public meetings, and perhaps occasional film showings. It is almost certain this building, at No.3 Armstrong Street, is the "Middle Park picture theatre" refurbished by Sydney Blacker Turnbull (a professional engineer) and his volunteers.
The Melbourne Repertory Club, under the direction of Sydney Turnbull and Lorna Forbes, repurposed the old picture theatre at 1–3 Armstrong Street using volunteer labour.
In March 1945 they opened the hall as a little theatre, naming it Melbourne Repertory Theatre. The freehold of the building was owned by a St Kilda woman who, as a condition of a generous lease, stipulated that it could only be used for "live drama of the spoken word". The Club's first production in their new home was Sheridan's School For Scandal, directed by the former Shakespeatean actor Lorna Forbes.
Others to use the stage included the Australian Repertory Players, whose first production there was Euripides' Alcestis, with an all-female cast directed by Maie Hoban in November 1945.
In October 1945 the Repertory Club played Ray Lawler's Hal's Belles, with Frank Thring, in a professional debut, playing a modern-day reincarnation of Henry VIII.
The Club and the Melbourne Repertory Theatre folded in December 1949, following the prolonged illness of its founder, Sydney Turnbull. His wife, Lorna Turnbull (the Lorna Forbes mentioned above was a different person) kept the movement going with considerable assistance from volunteers, but their final production was J. B. Priestley's I Have Been Here Before in December 1949.
In 1951 Frank Thring took over the lease, and had the building refurbished and redecorated by Frances Mary Burke, a well-known interior designer.