THE SATURDAY SHOP
Royally entertaining
His Majesty’s Arcade, by Ruth Spencer
All good things come to an end. With Christmas tinsel slung between the shops, this seems a festive scene of 1980s retail, but the bells ringing for His Majesty’s Theatre were less of the jingle variety and more of a death knell. On Christmas Eve 1987, within days of this photograph being taken, the demolition of one of Auckland’s grand old theatres ended the reign of a venue that had hosted The Beatles, Spike Milligan and the groundbreakingly risque musical Hair, in which the actors were as topless as the lady on the (rather) blue De Luxe signage.
The Victorian arcade, built as a grand entrance to the nicer seats, would not survive the theatre’s demise. A glassed-in enclave of artists, hairdressers and fashion boutiques, it was a hip destination itself. Real Pictures Gallery, dedicated to exhibiting New Zealand art photography, sometimes served as a venue for live performances with a more avant-garde aesthetic than His Majesty’s. Molyneux, on the left with the mannequin and the potted tree, was the home of fashion by former UK designer Brian Molyneux, as seen on television presenters, opera stars, Joan Collins and the epitome of New Zealand royalty, Rachel Hunter.
When His Majesty’s was built in 1902 it was a triumph of the art, with peacock-blue plush seats and a stage of adequate proportions to accommodate the live horses and regatta scenes popular at the time. Its sliding roof could be opened with a hand winch, providing an approximation of air conditioning; capricious Auckland weather meant theatre-goers were occasionally obliged to shelter under their programmes. There were 29 protesters arrested when His Majesty’s succumbed to the wrecking ball, and the festivities were over.