South Australian state-heritage-listed cinema saved by
community action in 2008.
The Regal Theatre in Adelaide’s eastern Marryatville was named in 2026 at No.71 in British magazine Time Out’s list of the 100 greatest cinemas in the world.
Under the ownership of City of Burnside it was renovated and regained its art-deco cinema glamour in 2017.
Time Out’s rating of The Regal described it as an “art deco stunner” that looked “fresh as a daisy” after its facelift. The Regal Theatre, the latest in its series of names and changes since 1925, was saved as a cinema by the activism of the community in the eastern Adelaide suburb of Burnside from 2008. It has been South Australia state heritage listed since 1983 and it has been run and owned, by the City of Burnside from 2017.
The cinema building was constructed on Kensington Road in 1925 as the 1,300-seats Princess Theatre, originally designed for silent movies. Its first film was Mary Pickford in Little Annie Rooney. After the National Theatres group was liquidated, the cinema was bought by South Australia’s Waterman family in 1928 and it was renamed the Marryatville Ozone when Ozone Pictures (later absorbed into Hoyts) became owners. It was adapted for “talkies” from 1929.
The Watermans in 1941 commissioned a renovation by F. Kenneth Milne Architects to a design by Chris Smith, taking its style from late Edwardian to bold art deco features, including its blue and pink ceiling. In 1951, the Ozone joined the Hoyts cinema chain, one of Australia’s largest. With new widescreen technology, CinemaScope was installed in 1955, along with a new, wider proscenium to fit the format.
Despite the upgrades, the rise of television led to a decline in suburban cinema attendance. In 1963, the building was up for sale and Amoco Petrol Company was prepared to buy the cinema and replace it with a petrol station. Instead, Burnside Council bought the cinema and leased it back to the previous owner Hoyts. When Hoyts decided not to renew their lease in 1971 and, when Wallis Cinemas took it over, the name was changed to Chelsea Cinema. A major restoration followed in 1984, supported by the Community Employment Program. Seating was cut from 1,145 to 586; new floor, screen, acoustic equipment, and carpet installed; and the building repainted for the first time since 1955.
In 2008, the City of Burnside received a inquiry as to whether council was prepared to sell the Chelsea Cinema and May Street property next door. After considering options for the cinema site, the council called for expressions of interest in its sale. This led to a strong activism within the community, opposing any sale and demanding that the building remain in public ownership as a cinema in perpetuity.
As a result of the community protest, the City of Burnside abandoned the sale and opted to lease the cinema to a private cinema operator, Republic Theatres – along with another name change to the Regal Theatre. Republic Theatres ran the cinema until 2017, when the council opted to manage the cinema using its internal resources.
The City of Burnside’s conservation management plan for the Chelsea Cinema in 2009 was updated for the Regal Theatre in 2020 to guide the developing, conserving and maintaining it, based its history and significance and physical condition. In 2024, the City of Burnside secured a $2.43m grant funding from the Australian government to the redevelop the Regal Theatre precinct.
The Regal is used for films, live events, concerts and is an The Adelaide Fringe venue.
Photos: City of Burnside
Regal Theatre, Kensington Road, Marryatville.
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