St. James Theatre, Wellington

Story

The St. James Theatre, (previously known as His Majesty's Theatre, and the Westpac St. James Theatre from 1997–2007) (usually referred to simply as "The St. James") is a stage theatre located in the heart of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. The present theatre was designed in 1912 by New Zealand theatre designer Henry Eli White. The theatre currently faces on to Courtenay Place, the main street of Wellington's entertainment district, opposite the Reading Cinema complex. The building is number 83.The building is classified as a "Category I" ("places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value") historic place by Heritage New Zealand.HistoryThe St. James has had a long history, with its success in its early years, a near demolition in the 1980s and to its return to the city's cultural light in the late 1990s.The theatre's land had been used as a church and volunteer hall prior to it being bought by the famous entertainer John Fuller on 23 December 1899. The St. James was made famous by Fuller, who had also built over 60 other theatres in New Zealand. He revamped the hall in 1903 and named it "His Majesty's Theatre", or nicknamed "Fuller's". During its use, the hall was host to pantomimes and a Cleopatra act, which involved the first and last import of snakes into New Zealand. However, opera of any kind was seldom allowed by Fuller, who usually directed any opera show to Wellington's Opera House down the road. Fuller used the old hall until November 1911, when it was eventually declared a fire hazard and demolished.