stagesetting

"SAN TOY." The final performance of "San Toy" by the Br.simne Amateur Operatic Society at the Tivoli will take place to-night. The production was enthusiastically enjoyed by another crowded audience last night, and everyone was delighted with the beau- tiful mounting and dressing, and the excellence with which all the music was bundled. The fun. too. was very diverting emphasized by Mr. Vivian Brahms and Mr. Vic Jensen, Source: 26 Jun 1915, The Telegraph, Brisbane trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/176905624/19850238

The Tivoli Theatre's construction began in Albert Street, Brisbane in 1914, on the site of the former Turkish baths.[1] It was designed by architect Henry E. White in an art nouveau style and could house 1800 people on three levels. It was chilled by an air plant that could pump ice-cold are through the venue. It had ruby red carpets. It also featured a garden rooftop theatre holding 1200 with open sides for ventilation and steel shutters that could keep out the rain.[2][3] Its facade overlooking Albert Square had Oriental influences.[1] It opened on 15 May 1915[4] and featured a production of The Tivoli Follies in the auditorium and a vaudeville production in the rooftop theatre. These were staged by Hugh D. McIntosh, a showman, and promoter who was influential in the Rickard Tivoli circuit of Australia. It had a rival in vaudeville theatre the Empire Theatre also located in Albert Street which drew bigger crowds.[5] Smoking was permitted in the rooftop theatre. During Brisbane's hot summer months, the rooftop garden was meant to be more desirable. As the building had two entrances, it was possible for two production companies to co-exist on site with separate audiences as well.[1] Films were later shown in both venues after the advent of talking films. Union Theatres Ltd. renovated the Tivoli Theatre in 1927 using Sydney architects, Kaberry and Chard. This was to provide for more seating as the venue changed from a live theatre venue to that more suited to a film-going audience. Two galleries were removed to make way for a single dress circle.[1] With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, it was critical that the theatre could accommodate enough people to recover costs from cinema audiences as live theatre attendance dropped. More renovations to the foyer and the auditorium took place in 1935. The Tivoli was purchased by the Brisbane City Council in 1963 and closed in 1965. The intended King George Square development led to a number of buildings being demolished, including Centennial Hall and the Hibernian Building.[6] Programs from the theatre are held in the Fryer Library of the University of Queensland. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Theatre,_Brisbane

The Geisha, a story of a tea house is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Philp. The Geisha opened in 1896 at Daly's Theatre in London's West End, produced by George Edwardes. The original production had the second-longest run of any musical up to that time. The cast starred Marie Tempest and C. Hayden Coffin, with dancer Letty Lind and comic Huntley Wright. The show was an immediate success abroad, with an 1896 production in New York and numerous tours and productions in Europe and beyond. It continued to be popular until World War II and even beyond to some degree. The most famous song from the show is "The Amorous Goldfish".[1] Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geisha