Theatre Royal Castlemaine

By the early 1890's the Theatre Royal was again being advertised in rapturous terms.

With the coming of moving pictures the next owners moved with the times and the venue became the 'People's Popular Picture Palace'. It was extensively re-modeled in 1938 having lost its High Victorian verandah, dress circle, fixtures and fittings in the early 1920s.

By the early 1970s the Theatre had fallen on hard times. It had a crumbling art deco façade and only one performance a week was being advertised. The Theatre Royal had reached the point where only the small gallery [a mere ghost of the splendid original Dress Circle] was open, and heating and mod-cons were at an absolute minimum.

As a result of the hard work put in by the previous owner Ray Lindstrom, cinema manager Les Thornton, and a loyal and enthusiastic staff, the Theatre Royal came back to life.

They brought a variety of new films four or five nights a week, matinees, live theatre, discos, bands and live music for various age groups on a regular basis, a supper bar, liquor licence and-until quite recently, a video shop.

In 1999 new owners John & Donna Walter restred the Theatre, utilising the 1938 renovation as a foundation and reinstating the ice cream and juice bar.

Julian and Renee de Crespigny with David Stretch and Sarah Burdekin bought the Theatre in December 2004 and have set about continuing the restoration of the Theatre and in the process, aim to grow the business and establish the venue as a landmark regional entertainment complex.