Re-opening of the Avalon Theatre
Speech delivered by Professor Deborah Terry at the re-opening of the Avalon Theatre, Sir Fred Schonell Drive, St Lucia
Date: 13 September 2024
Thank you, Stephen, and good evening everyone.
I, too, acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we meet today & pay my respects to Elders past, present & emerging.
I’d also like to acknowledge:
- Mr Peter Varghese AO, Chancellor, UQ
- The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk, Board Member, Australia Post, and former Premier of Queensland
- Elizabeth Watson-Brown MP, Member for Ryan
- Michael Berkman MP, Member for Maiwar
- Ms Heather Fairbairn, Artistic Associate, Northern Rivers Performing Arts, and our guest speaker this evening
- UQ colleagues and students, distinguished guests, one and all.
I am delighted to welcome you all here on this auspicious occasion to celebrate the official ‘re-opening’ of the Avalon Theatre.
As many of you will know, this building has had many lives. Built in 1923, it came from humble beginnings as a Church of England hall.[1]
And over the years, its name and use have changed a number of times. In the early days, it was known as the St Lucia Progress Hall.[2] Owned by the St Lucia Progress Association, it was frequently let out for community events such as school dances, birthday parties and performances by the St Lucia Entertainers, a small theatre group based in the area.
The hall at that time was apparently unimpressive, especially for use as a theatre – it was a squat A-frame Queenslander made of timber palings and a corrugated iron roof that didn’t exactly lend itself to optimal acoustics. However, despite this, the St Lucia Entertainers performed in the hall dozens of times – mainly doing vaudeville and pantomime productions as well as the odd Shakespeare scene.
When World War Two broke out, theatrical performances in the hall all but ceased, except for the occasional pantomime to raise money for the Red Cross.
And after the war, there was a move away from theatrical activities all together. In 1947, the hall was licensed as a picture theatre and its name was changed to the Esquire Theatre.[3]
For several years, it showed popular American films – the kind that starred Errol Flynn & Ronald Reagan, back before his political career – until 1956, when the Progress Association sold the theatre, and the new owner dubbed it the Avalon.
At the same time, just down the road at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus, a number of student theatre groups – the Dramatic Society, known as Dramsoc, and the Scoop Revue Company being the biggest ones – were advocating for an appropriate home for their activities.
In fact, Dramsoc had been agitating for a UQ Union Theatre since 1944, and in 1960, the student theatre groups got together and set up a Theatre Fund Advisory Committee and took the appeal directly to the university.
Back then, there was a small space on campus that the groups could use, called the GP Hut, however it was considered far from suitable, with Semper Floreat describing it, in their typically direct style, as and I quote: “…a dirty, drafty, uncomfortable hut with acoustic properties rendered farcical by the probability that a great truck will go roaring past on the roadway, twelve feet away outside.”
The Committee’s campaign eventually paid off and the then Vice-Chancellor, Sir Fred Schonell, agreed that UQ would purchase the Avalon Theatre – the building, land, and production equipment – for £9,000.[4] Which equates to about $295,000 in 2024... and which, I think you’ll all agree, would be an unheard-of price for land in St Lucia today!
This was a major win for the student theatre groups who finally had a space to call their own. And it was heavily used by Dramsoc and the Scoop Revue, as well as the Architecture Revue, the college revues, the Staff Players and the German Goethe Society – among others!
However, when the Schonell Theatre and Union Complex opened in 1970, these groups were forced to move their activities – and much to their dismay, pay significantly higher costs to lease the Schonell for rehearsals and performances.[5]
As for the Avalon, once it was vacated by the student theatre groups, it served for a couple of decades as a practical tutorial space for the university’s emerging drama program, as well as a home to UQ’s first television studio. And even as a voting station operated by the Australian Electoral Commission on election days.
Then, in the mid-1990s, the television studio was relocated, and the English Department took over the whole of the Avalon, officially re-opening it as the “Avalon Drama Studios”.
Unfortunately, though, this new iteration only lasted a handful of years, because in 2004 the Avalon’s roof structure was found to be sagging – and dangerously unsound and there was a severe white ant infestation in the building’s joists.[6]
So, it was immediately closed and has since sat in a state of disuse for two decades. That is, until now. Because tonight, after a major heritage renovation, which involved, among other things:
- the complete removal and meticulous reconstruction of the entire façade of the building;
- the deliberate replication of what would today be regarded as poor rendering techniques, in order to stay true to the original method;
- and the careful protection of as many of the original weatherboards as possible – even in places where they will rarely be seen, like the inside of a storeroom;
I am thrilled to declare that the Avalon Theatre has returned for an encore performance. This time, as the home of UQ Drama.
UQ Drama – like the UQ theatre groups of the mid-20th century – has been somewhat ‘homeless’ for the last couple of years, since asbestos dust was detected in the Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio in 2021. But now, they have a magnificent new home, in the Avalon.
UQ’s Drama program settled in here in late July for the start of Semester 2 classes, and the University’s resident theatre company, the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, has also moved in.
And I have to say, it’s wonderful to see the theatre buzzing with creative energy again after so many years of laying dormant and in desperate need of repair.
Which brings me to the wonderful work of the the architects, designers and builders who brought this project to life. You have done a terrific job preserving the rich history of the site, while also creating two entirely new, modern performance spaces with all the bells and whistles that our drama school could hope for.
Something seemingly small, but which I think speaks to the care and consideration applied to this project, is that you have installed a number of plywood boards in the backstage area for performers to write on before they go on stage. This was a tradition that started in the Schonell Theatre, and the inclusion of the boards here, for that purpose, I think is a wonderful and thoughtful design feature. So, a big thank you to you all.
For more than a century now, this building has experienced heavy periods of use and disuse. It’s been a theatre, a cinema, a meeting place, a party venue, a voting site, a television studio, and the site of many community fetes.
However, what is so striking about its history, is that, time and time again, it has served as a space for amateur performers to practise their art and hone their skills. It was discovered by the St Lucia Entertainers, re-discovered by UQ’s various theatre groups, and it’s being re-discovered again, in 2024, by UQ Drama.
This speaks to the importance of creating space for our artists and performers to flourish, and while there have always been bigger and more architecturally impressive theatres around Brisbane, the Avalon has a quiet character and a unique magic that is important to recognise.
A magic which is encapsulated in the words of Robert Forster, one of the co-founders with Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens, who said, and I quote:
“It was a jostling atmosphere in which Grant and I felt immediately at home, and our friendship began and blossomed here, amid the costume trunks, the works of Beckett, Genet and Ionesco (perfect for a pop band) ... It was action, and fun, and good learning, and it’s where The Go-Betweens started.”[7]
The Avalon has always been here for those who wanted to learn; those who were passionate about acting and the power of live performance; and those who simply wanted a space to explore and practise what they loved. It is my hope, that the Avalon will continue to be that space for our drama students and staff, as well as for the broader community.
And as the plywood boards around the building fill up with the messages and signatures of performers, I know that the magic and the impact of this place, will only grow stronger.
And on that note, it gives me great pleasure to declare the Avalon officially re-opened!
[1] Brisbane City Council Heritage Citation, Avalon Theatre
[2] Brisbane City Council Heritage Citation, Avalon Theatre
[3] A History of the Avalon Theatre 1921–2007, Nigel Pearn & Richard Fotheringham, 2007
[4] A History of the Avalon Theatre 1921–2007, Nigel Pearn & Richard Fotheringham, 2007
[5] A History of the Avalon Theatre 1921–2007, Nigel Pearn & Richard Fotheringham, 2007
[6] A History of the Avalon Theatre 1921–2007, Nigel Pearn & Richard Fotheringham, 2007
[7] ‘From Screen to Stage: A History of Avalon’, 9 May 2018