WEST AUSTRALIANA
First edition. Signed by Author (inscription).SCARCE FINE His Majesty’s Theatre – as it is known to an older generation of theatregoers or The Maj as it is affectionately known in more recent times – was more valuable in 1977 as real estate than it was as a theatre. A determined Premier, who had performed there many times in the 1920s and 1930s, was instrumental in saving the Maj from destruction.But the Maj was not saved without a fight. Perth’s cultural needs for the future was a hot topic in the 1970s. The choice was: restore the Maj or build a cultural complex at the heart of which was a Lyric Theatre.Renowned theatre architect Peter Parkinson accepted the daunting challenge on 17 May 1977 to make the last surviving Edwardian Theatre in Australia a venue suitable for the audiences and performers of today. For one hundred years the Maj has entertained West Australians, and has helped them define who they are. Visiting artists have brought fine music, exciting theatre, breathtaking dance, the best (and worst) of Shakespeare and many glorious musical comedies, as well as witty and wily entertainers, among them many professional wrestlers!The Maj has been home, too, to local artists and productions. City of Perth Concert Artists, West Australian Ballet, West Australian Opera and the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, as well as many others, have all performed in the Maj.This illustrated centennial history of His Majesty’s Theatre will tell the tales behind the tales in this account of the first one hundred years in the life of a much-loved theatre. vi., 354 p.: . ill. (chiefly col.); 29 cm. #090915/0818/1120/150322/130623