Its rather dilapidated appearance belies the glory days of the cinema when the movie theatres captivated the imagination of Lithgow audiences, through the dark days after The Great War, the Depression, another World War as well as the good times.

It required two members of the police to regulate the stream of patrons who attended the unofficial opening night of the ‘The Royal’ theatre on Saturday, January 15, 1921.

The actions of the large crowd, gathered in front of the theatre, reminded the Mercury's reporter of the 'rush at Wirth's circus when the doors were opened'. The feature movie, 'Just a Wife', starred Roy Stewart and Kathlyn McDonald. The excellent five-piece Royal Orchestra, performed under the baton of Mr E Goss, greatly enhancing the enjoyment of the patrons in this era before 'the talkies'.

Owned by Lithgow Amusement Co, the management of the newly opened theatre was in the hands of H J Frost, who for the previous four years had been associated with the Trades Hall theatre.

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When the Coliseum Theatre was burnt to the ground on September 2, 1924, the demands on seating at The Royal increased. The owners were fined eight pounds and five shillings in costs in March 1926 when the inspector visited one evening at 8.45pm and found all exits blocked by emergency seating brought in to house patrons.

Only five years after opening night, Lithgow Amusement Co employed Harry White to entirely remodel the theatre.

Harry White, one of Australia's most prominent theatre architects, designed both the Capital and State Theatres in Sydney. A new facade was built some five metres in front of the original facade. The roof was raised, and the walls built up to allow for the introduction of a modern dress circle, seating nearly 500 people, increasing the total capacity of The Royal to 1700.

The front of the theatre was also enlarged and the theatre re-opened on June 27, 1927. The feature film was 'The 4th Commandment’. Talkies were first shown at The Royal on October 10, 1929.

In the 1940s alterations, reminiscent of the dignified Ancient Greek architecture, made to the proscenium (the part of a theatre stage in front of the curtain) greatly enhanced the atmosphere. The auditorium was again renovated in 1952, redesigning the ceiling to make it more presentable.

Some 18 years later the 1952 ‘renovations were to become a disaster when it was discovered that the architect had cut the wall ties that held the walls together.’

Following a heavy snowfall in 1970, the weight of the snow on the roof moved the walls outwards and the trusses splintered, necessitating further repairs.

The Royal became the first country theatre to install Cinemascope in 1954. Despite the giant new 33-foot screen, new speakers and sparkling gold curtains and the improvement in picture quality, theatre patronage dropped with the advent of television and the theatre closed in 1981.

The theatre was remodelled again in 1981 and re-opened on April 30, 1982 as a showcase cinema, complete with Venetian Renaissance furnishings and Florentine Capodimonte (porcelain) chandeliers.

By 1991 the Royal had been renamed Sgt Peppers Nightclub and Cinema and films were only run two or three nights per week. Seating for the movie patrons was restricted to the dress circle. The stalls area had been converted into a night club, bars and dance floor. By 1992 film screenings had ceased and the nightclub eventually closed.

Wes Anderson, projectionist at The Royal for over 20 years, reminisced in his History of the Theatres of Lithgow how the ‘theatre came to life every night as the house lights were turned on and the patrons began arriving and then the light from the projection room flashed onto the silver screen’.

One can only hope that sometime in the future this building will once again come to life. 

Submitted by Jan Saundercock, Lithgow & District Family History Society Inc. from articles written by Wes Anderson, Les Tod and Ian Burns and newspaper reports published in the Lithgow Mercury.