from the special collections of the Fryer Library
Regent Theatre 1929-2010

June 2010 sees the final days of the iconic Regent Theatre in Brisbane. It opened to great fanfare in November 1929 with an orchestra, dancers and the moving picture "Fox Movietone Follies".

The theatre was constructed to facilitate both live and recorded performances with funding from the Mayne Estate and included a hydraulically raised Wurlitzer organ. Lavishly designed in Gothic Empire style it contained fabulously ornate decorations and a grand foyer.

It was unsympathetically remodeled in the late 1970s, leaving only the now heritage-listed foyer and interwar palazzo style facade. Many of the fittings removed during this time have been salvaged and reinstalled in the Majestic Cinema at Pomona, on the Sunshine Coast.

The Regent was one of several grand picture houses in Brisbane that are no longer standing, such as the Winter Garden, Her Majesty's, The Odeon, St James, The Metro and the Tivoli Theatres.

Since 1992 the venue has also been the host for the Brisbane International Film Festival and its lavish themed parties held in the theatre's foyer.

[1.] Left: The "The Regent Magazine", Vol.1 No.3 1929, from the Fryer Library Theatre Program Files
 

The theatre is being redeveloped to make way for Brookfield Multiplex's $800 million 40-floor office tower and cinema development. The office tower will incorporate the 80-year-old theatre's heritage-listed grand foyer but not the ornate bar area, the red-brick Elizabeth Street facade and former stage-door entrance, or any of the four cinemas.

Strong feelings have been voiced by campaigners via online forums such as www.savetheregent.com - "We've lost Her Majesty's, the Wintergarden, the Metro, the Paris, the Forum, Festival Hall, the Bellevue and Cloudland, but the Regent can and should be saved." Brett Debritz.

The Fryer Library holds a small collection of material relating to the Regent Theatre in its Theatre Program files, including early programs and magazines.

Marg Powell, Fryer Library

The Library is actively seeking any material relating to the Regent Theatre and can be contacted at fryer@library.uq.edu.au
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