Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Rialto Theatre (Brisbane, Qld.)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Located on the corner of Hardgrave Road and Skinner Street, West End, it was built as a cinema, but also used as a venue for live performances. During the 1940s & 50s it was also used as a radio studio. The Musical and Theatre Guild of Queensland performed there from 1952 after the closure of the Cremorne Theatre. Notable productions were: MTC's "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" in 1956, the Gibb brothers appeared in "Jack and the Beanstalk" in 1960, and in 1978 it hosted "The Rocky Horror Show". Nancy Weir purchased the theatre in 1983 and tried to revive the theatre with musical and variety productions, but it was sold again in 1987. From its reopening in 1988 it continued to provide a venue for touring productions and community groups including: annual Gang Shows, The Phillipe Genty company, Roll Back the Years vaudeville shows, and Hinge and Brackett in "The Importance of Being Ernest". During this time it continued to screen films, however it ended its life as a theatre after a severe storm in 1995 when the building was unroofed during a screening.