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St James Theatre Wellington |
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The theatre was built as Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1912, and was the first entirely steel framed and reinforced concrete theatre in that part of the world. It was designed so that the audience and production on stage would be closer, and the auditorium was highly ornamental with things like cherubs and gilded art work. The theatre came under threat of demolition in the 1980’s but the community was not willing to see it go and fought for its upkeep. The Wellington City Council Charitable Trust donated some money towards refurbishment as did other groups such as the Lottery Grants Board. In 1988 the trust gathered most of the money needed. St James Theatre now refurbished is a permanent home for The Royal New Zealand Ballet. And continues to stage many productions. It has also been recognised as Category 1 building of outstanding cultural and historical significance by The New Zealand Historic Places Trust.Many ghosts have been seen at the theatre the most popular being a male named Yuri who fell from the flies above the stage, he is known to like turning lights back on after people especially the cleaners turn them off. Also there is a wailing woman and a man at the back corridor who is often heard wheezing.
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