Heritage et AL

Over the past few weeks the Central City Library has been host to two talks in a series of events to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 1616, with two more events scheduled. In conjunction with the Pop-up Globe we have had some outstanding speakers who have brought a range of perspectives and expertise to these events. For those who have missed it, the first talk, Shakespeare from page to stage , has been uploaded to the Auckland Libraries YouTube channel . See Miles Gregory, Artistic Director of Pop-up Globe and director of Twelfth night , Professor Tom Bishop from the University of Auckland and Ben Naylor, director of Romeo and Juliet in conversation with Auckland Libraries’ own Iain Sharp .

Today, 8 August, marks the 100 year anniversary of the Battle for Chunuk Bair . The battle, which took place from 6-10 August 1915, was New Zealand’s most significant action in the Gallipoli Campaign . To help commemorate the anniversary of the battle we are taking the opportunity to look back on the premier performance of Maurice Shadbolt's only published play,  Once on Chunuk Bair.  The first performance of  Once on Chunuk Bair  was given at Mercury Theatre , Auckland, on 23 April 1982. The play was directed by  Ian Mune  and designed by Richard Jeziorny. Two manuscript collections held in Sir George Grey Special Collections are useful in looking back to this initial staging of the play. The first is the Roy Billing papers , who was the lead actor in the 1982 performance. This collection includes draft scripts of the play as it was performed at the Mercury Theatre, complete with Billing's annotations as well as an extract from his unpublished memoir, ...

The staff of Sir George Grey Special Collections and the Central Auckland Research Centre at the Central Library were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Ann Baxter on Tuesday 28   April.  Ann had been a volunteer for over 15 years, at first in the Research Centre and more recently in Special Collections.  For the last 18 months she had been working on sorting and foldering unsorted material from the Auckland Provincial Council records . This was done with enthusiasm and attention to detail. Her comments on items she came across were always interesting and frequently made with characteristic Yorkshire humour .  Ref: Ann Baxter working in the Special Collections reading room, 5 February 2013,  The Wire, Auckland Council, 38-244556. We are indebted to Ann, not only for this work but for her wider appreciation of the collections and for her advocacy for them. She gave some of her  personal papers  from her  writing, directing and act...

Queen Street’s St. James Theatre has been in the news recently , with the announcement by its new owner of plans for restoration, in conjunction with the development of an adjacent 39 story residential tower. The Category 1 listed building was opened in July 1928, with a performance of the London Musical Comedy ‘Archie’. The images below are the cover and the centre pages of the programme from  that  evening:  Ref: New Zealand Ephemera -  'Archie' - A Musical Comedy In Two Acts.  Gala opening performance of the St James Theatre, July 5 1928.   Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries.  Ref: New Zealand Ephemera -  'Archie' - A Musical Comedy In Two Acts.  Gala opening performance of the St James Theatre, July 5 1928.   Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. 

For a quarter of a century, the Mercury Theatre was the leading theatrical company in Auckland and one of the largest, most professionally run and most important performing arts organisations in the country (see an earlier post on 23 April 2013). A dozen or more shows were performed every year at this venue, ranging from children's pantomimes to cutting-edge drama. The Auckland Theatre Trust was formed in 1966 to raise funds for the establishment of a professional theatre company in Auckland. An old playhouse in France Street (off Karangahape Road), built in 1910 and later used as a cinema, was extensively refitted to serve as the company's headquarters and principal venue. The Mercury Theatre opened in 1968 with a production of J. M. Barrie's comedy, 'The admirable Crichton'. During the next few decades, the company attracted some of New Zealand's top acting talents (such as Roy Billing, Pam Ferris, Lee Grant, George Henare, Michael Hurst, Ian Mune and Jennif...

Mercury Theatre on the corner of Karangahape Road and Mercury Lane is the Auckland region’s oldest theatre building. Originally named the Kings Theatre, the theatre was built in 1910 for the notable Australasian entertainment company, John Fuller & Sons. The Fullers were a well known vaudeville family who had arrived in NZ in 1895 and toured the main centres. John Fuller realised the potential of silent movies and the need for a purpose built theatre for both live theatre and music. He obtained the land for the theatre and architect Edward Bartley was given the brief to erect the the theatre. Built in the Edwardian Baroque style, this brick building of three storeys has a  rare and regionally notable interior, which is a prime example of  original Edwardian Theatre. The building previously had three entrances including the former entrance through the Norman Ng Building on Karangahape Road, which has been more recently occupied by a series of food outlets and cafes. R...