Lieder Theatre celebrates 130 years

The anniversary was celebrated in style in front of many on Saturday, June 26.

Former president Jennifer Lamb spoke about how much the Lieder had changed throughout her 30 years there.

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"A hundred and thirty years is a lot of time," Ms Lamb said.

"The theatre has continued to evolve gradually and director Chrisjohn Hancock has had a great influence on it.

"Theatre's been dying for centuries, but we're still able to stay strong.

"I congratulate everyone who's been involved."

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To mark the milestone, Ms Lamb updated the Lieder Theatre's history book which marked both the 100^th and 120^th anniversary of the company.

"A hundred and thirty years is a lot of time," Ms Lamb said.

"The previous history books were sold out, so we wanted to create an updated version which includes everything from the last version."

Also in attendance was Nancy Foord, the daughter of William Bladwell, who was heavily involved with the theatre at the beginning.

Ms Foord spoke about her experiences in helping out Mr Bladwell, including how she was in charge of selling lollies to the patrons.

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The first stage production performed at the Lieder Theatre, formerly know as the Liedertafel Hall, was Three Wise Fools produced by Charles Morse in March 1930.

In the '30s, the Hall served as an-all purpose venue where dances, meetings, social gatherings and even boxing matches were held.

In 1971, the Hall was re-named to the Lieder Theatre and evolved into The Lieder Theatre Company in the '90s.

The celebratory event was followed by a running of the play Prophecy.

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