THE FIRE IN HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE, SYDNEY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2505, 26 March 1902, Page 57

THE FIRE IN HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE, SYDNEY.

The deduction by fire of Ilei ilajesU'.-, Theatre, rfydnej, is a much mote acrious disaster than tiie average pcriou wouid imagine. The loss to Mr Williamson i« .rrcpar^lj.c. For jears p«tst lie lias been accumulating scenery, wardrobe, propeities, and effects, until the storerooms were packed. At the conclusion of the ru:i of :i piece the entire production would be Morc-d m anticipation of a revival, and there were scores of thes'-. Mr "Williamson imports h.« pa.nts, potash, manganese, etc., by the toi. !>•_* alsr. imports tsnvat, PHtini, silks, and a'A the gorgeous trimmings =o nece*3ary to stage dresses. In hi" strongroom there were hundreds of o] era«, diams 1 -. ~oniedie ct , burlesques, pantomimes, etc, <omp!ele, with band part?, prompt book-s, a; d tons, of printing. For each open alone there were JU orchestral (J art-s. and as th" coat for scoring an opera fa i.'l per instruin nt, the lo^s hr-re wai enormous The prompt book*- of the cliftelent oi-tr.i 1 -. itr . were m\ <<.'it.t bit. and are iUiivO'i^ibk to xtulate. As e~i-h uiompt book

was interleaved, and contained the "business* of the piece written up, and containing the essence, as it were, of hundreds if clever comedians' brains, the value of thess books weu]d b3b 3 incalculable. Mr Williamson's co'lection of photographs was unique, and wa? '■alued at £3000. It contained autograph photos of Bernhardt, Tooie, Irving, and hurdreds of the world's leading operatic and dramatic stars. Another heavy loss would be the assignments of the different copyrights, and the contracts with stars to arrive. Outside of Mr Williamson, the company would be heavy losers, as most actors and actresses keep their wardrobes, etc., m the theawe. There were some 400 people engaged in the production of "Ben Hur, and as most of these were married, it is witbm the matk to surmise that over 1200 people were indirectly depending on Her Majesty's for a living. The burning of a theatre is not like the > burning o[ a dvapcr'3 shop, where the proprietor can replaaa his wares and, like Anmory Hevrdern, of Sydney, remove to other premises iurther up or down the street, and keep aia workers employed all the time. With a theatre like the one just destroyed, which, although only insured for £18,000. cost something like £80,000 to build, it is a different matter. The lessee or proprietor cannot at a moment's notice or a week's notice shift his quarters elsewhere, because there is no elsewhere suitable, not e\en for a makeshift. Mr Williameon will have to make some arrangements with his artists who came out to Australia specially for the production of "Ben Hur," and this wil! be no easy task, for he will have to find a place for them. The origin of the fira is a. mystery, and is against all previous theatre fires, as the hour in which the majority of theatres have been burnt down is between 1 and 2 o'clock. Mr "Williamson's loss will probably ru^ttnto £35,000 or £40,000, but 83 he is notecr^ror his energy and indomitabi* pluck, no doubt he will soon shake off th« effects of this disaster.