Heritage

MERCURY THEATRE

Located just off Karangahape Road is one of the most important buildings in Auckland. The Mercury Theatre, which is the oldest surviving theatre in Auckland.

Had this building been located almost anywhere else it would have doubtless enjoyed landmark status simply because of its engaging façade. However it’s position on a relatively narrow sloping street means it is difficult to really take in and appreciate the quality of the architecture.

The building is an imposing piece of Edwardian Baroque architecture but it’s importance lies not so much in it’s appearance but in its history.

The Fullers company was one of the businesses concerned with public entertainment in Auckland at the turn of the 20th Century and in 1910 they opened the Kings Theatre with the showing of a Motion picture, obviously a very up to date and modern thing to do.

Moving pictures were first shown in Paris in 1896, within six months they were being shown in the Opera House here in Auckland and over the next 14 years several theatres and halls in New Zealand were converted to show Motion pictures on a regular or permanent basis.

Although designed primarily as a live drama venue the Kings Theatre was built with the facilities to screen Moving Pictures. [The first purpose built Cinema is the Victoria cinema in Devonport from 1912.]

On Christmas Eve in 1911 the first Colour Film screened in New Zealand was shown here [ not just a coloured in Black & White Film, but one of the six or so early colour processes that were experimented with before Techicolor was perfected in the mid-1920s]

By the mid 1920s it must have become obvious that an entrance on K’rd would be an asset to the business so the space between the Hallensteins Building and Bradstreets Drapery Store was built as the new entrance to what was now the Prince Edward Theatre.

This new entrance was designed as a long corridor in the Art-Deco style. An elegantly slim space, two storied in height, the new entrance stretched from K'rd back to a marble staircase. At the top of the stairs was a lobby surmounted by a leadlight dome in the neo-greek style .

The Kings Theatre went through several name changes; The Prince Edward Theatre, The Prince of Wales, The King Edward and eventually the Playhouse.

The Prince Edward was one of about six cinemas operating in the Karangahape Road area between the turn of the century and the 1960s, when the popularity of suburban life & radio and the advent of television lead to a decline in the cinema business. In the 1960s Fullers moved away from public entertainment such as cinemas and into providing ferry services.

When the Playhouse Cinema closed around 1960 the K'rd entrance building was sold off as a seperate title and became the Norman Ng fruit shop [said to be the only fruit shop with a marble floor]. When Norman Ng's closed in the early 1990s the space was fitted out as one of K'rd's most famous and popular cafe's; Brazil. It is currently [2008] having it's interior restored as part of a new food outlet.

View of renovations & detail of mosaic tiling in the 1926 K'rd Entrance

In 1962 the Cinema became the home of the Mercury Theatre Company which provided a focus for theatre in Auckland for many years. Both as a venue and as a training ground for actors, it played a significant role in the theatrical life of NZ and is remembered fondly by a great many people. After the Theatre Company closed in 1990 France St was eventually renamed Mercury Lane to honour this memory.

The building is currently the premises of the Equippers Church.

During the time it was used as the Mercury theatre the interior of the auditorium had been left intact but was painted matt black. The Equippers Church has tried to recreate the original colour scheme of cream, red & blue. Much of the detailing has been painstakingly highlighted in gold.

The building is available for hire and recently saw the production of a theatrical work for the first time in over 15 years when the Auckland Opera Studio staged the opera “The Seven Deadly Sins”.

Mercury Theatre now owned and operated by: