AustLit

Built by James Brennan, a prominent sports entrepreneur, Brennan's Amphitheatre was situated in Burke Street on the site of the Douglas Theatre (1860-1911). It opened in 1912, seating up to 2,000 people with a design comprising raked stalls and a rear balcony. Brennan, who had been using the Gaiety Theatre for his Melbourne operations since 1907, did not retain his new theatre long, however, as that same year he sold his entire vaudeville circuit to the Fullers. Under their management (the new circuit was initially known as Fuller-Brennan), the theatre was renamed the National Amphitheatre in line with the venue they were then operating in Sydney. In 1916 the building was remodeled as a three tier auditorium and renamed the Palace Theatre. It was remodeled and renamed again in 1934 - as the Apollo Theatre. Six years later the Fullers sold the building to MGM which operated it for some three decades (it was also renamed it twice more - as the St James and the Metro). In the early 1970s the theatre was returned to a live venue, with the rock musical Hair being the most successful production staged (39 weeks). It was renamed the Palace Cinema in 1974 and by the end of the decade had been bought by a revivalist Christian organisation. After being sold in 1987 it operated as the Metro Nightclub and in 2007 underwent restoration by new owners - who also restored one of its former names, The Palace Theatre.