theatre – Global Art Deco

Enmore Theatre, Sydney

With this post we are once more off to the theatre. In fact, the Enmore Theatre is not only the longest running one in Sydney, Australia, but also the only surviving Art Deco styled theatre there. It can be found in the Newtown area at 118-132 Enmore Road and was first built in 1908, opening in 1912 as a cinema for silent movies with a concert orchestra providing their soundtracks. The Enmore was designed by the architects Kaberry & Chard and renovated in 1920, but this is a bit early for the geometric styling we see here. It was probably renovated again in the 1930s.

The Enmore is still going strong in its second century of theatre and cinema existence and can fit 1,700 seated and 2,500 standing. It has always balanced big name acts like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones with native Australian acts and local events. This may well have been the key to its survival as the arrival of television saw the closing and demolition of many fine entertainment houses globally. Many thanks to Keith Barrett for providing these photographs.

Horizontal and vertical juxtapositions in pastel tones

Another view of the Enmore Theatre’s façade

Teatro Rialto, Valencia

If you should visit the Spanish seaside town of Valencia you might discover the marvellous Teatro Rialto there. Located in Plaza del Ayuntamiento (Town Hall square) in the central city area, it was designed by the architect Cayetano Borso di Carminati and constructed in 1939. Originally a cinema, it was taken over by the Valencian government who converted it into a theatre in the 1980s. It also has a screening hall for the local government’s film library. The Teatro Rialto makes an interesting comparison with the Kaaitheater in Brussels: https://globalartdeco.com/art-deco-cities/brussels-2/

A Barraca, Santos, Lisbon

The Cinearte cinema, at 2 Largo de Santos, was constructed in 1938, and features some details which give it an industrial look. Designed by the architect Raul Rodrigues Lima, it ran as a cinema for over four decades, closing in 1981. It was reborn in 1990 as a theatre named ‘A Barraca’ or ‘The Shack’. ‘A Barraca’ has now been successfully bringing a new theatrical dimension to the Santos district for thirty years. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s Raul Rodrigues Lima designed a number of Portuguese cinemas, as well as courts and prisons.