Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre is today largely associated with the intimate revue genre. This style of theatre, which was produced in Australia as early as 1947, with Sweetest and Lowest (Minerva Theatre, Sydney), is typically produced by small ensembles of actor/singers, an even smaller musical accompaniment (invariably piano and perhaps one or two other instruments, including drums), and minimal production values (sets and costumes, etc). The Phillip Street productions were also based around core groups of actors and writers, who remained with the company for several productions at a time, if not for several years. While intimate revue tended to use dance sparingly, one of its major features was songs, which were almost always heavily laced with satire.
The Phillip Street Theatre revue concept initially borrowed ideas from the English form, which emerged in London shortly before World War II. Almost all the shows were developed by William Orr; during the first two years, he collaborated primarily with writers John McKellar and Gerry Donovan and composer Lance Mulcahy. All three had previously been involved in the creation and production of revue as students at Sydney University. In 1953, Orr commissioned the trio to supply material for his revues Merry Go Round and Maid in Egypt, which were staged at the Metropolitan Theatre. Impressed by the success of these two productions and convinced that a permanent revue company could operate in Sydney, Orr and his partner Eric Duckworth set up operations at 171 Phillip Street, opening their venture on 7 May 1954 with Top of the Bill. Over the years, the theatre, which traded under the business name Playgoers' Co-Operative Theatres Ltd, had a number of high-profile directors, notably John Kerr QC and James R. McClelland.
In 1961, the company was forced to relocate from Phillip Street to slightly larger premises at 150 Elizabeth Street, near Liverpool Street (previously the Australian Hall). Eventually, the company's name was shortened to the Phillip Theatre in recognition of this move. The company continued to attract good houses during the early to mid-1960s, peaking over the 1965-66 season with arguably its most successful production, A Cup of Tea, A Bex and a Good Lie Down. However, the company's fortunes began to slide from around that point onwards, as local television programs such as The Mavis Bramston Show, and even late-night variety shows such as In Melbourne Tonight, hybridised intimate revue's satirical edge and stylistic delivery and took it to a wider audience, thereby making the live performance somewhat redundant. John West writes that although the Phillip Street revue 'is unlikely to come again... its best shows have left a comforting and lingering afterglow' (Companion to Theatre in Australia, p.440).
During the Phillip Street Theatre's tenure as Sydney's leading house of intimate revue, the company offered many performers their first professional job in the theatre and helped develop the talents of numerous actors who later went on to become film, theatre and television celebrities. Among the many dozens of actors, for example, were Ray Barrett, Peter Batey, Robina Beard, Ray Biehler, John Bell, Grahame Bond, Tony Bonner, Noeline Brown, Gordon Chater, Beryl Cheers, Ruth Cracknell, Barry Creyton, Gloria Dawn, John Ewart, Judi Farr, Ronald Frazer, Reg Gorman, Jimmy Hannan, Alton Harvey, Alan Hopgood, Bob Hornery, Barry Humphries, Kevan Johnston, Peter Kenna, Reg Livermore, Donald McDonald, John Meillon, Melvyn Morrow, Patsy Ann Noble, Rory O'Donoghue, Lyle O'Hara, Tom Oliver, Diana Perryman, Jill Perryman, Hazel Phillips, Max Phipps, Carol Raye, June Salter, Ron Shand, Charles Tingwell, Sue Walker, Peter Weir, Peter Whitford, and Barbara Wyndon. Others associated with the theatre include composers Dot Mendoza, Peter Sculthorpe, Tommy Tycho, and Charles Zwar, and scriptwriter Ray Taylor.
Although synonymous with locally written intimate revue, Phillip Street Theatre did not only produce that genre. Other notable productions were:
- 1954: The second production staged by Orr at Phillip Street was a season of Shakespeare's Hamlet (28 July - ca. 10 September). Allan Trevor played the principal role.
- 1955: The Duenna (London's latest success from the Westminster Theatre prior to its production in New York) was produced by Lionel Harris. The season ran for over four months (beginning 21 June) and starred Geoffrey Chard (on loan form the National Opera Co), along with Phillip Street company members Gordon Chater, Shirley Sunners, Gordon Walls, and John Parker. Making her first appearance with the company, too, was Ruth Cracknell.
- 1959: Comedian Joyce Grenfell presented a solo show titled Meet Joyce Grenfell. Originally slated for a six-week season, the show ran for three months (15 July-10 October).
- 1963: Peter Shaffer's twin comedies, The Private Ear and The Public Eye, were staged between 13 November 1963 and 14 March 1964. The cast was Gordon Chater, Judith Stott, John Bell, Max Osbiston, and Don Pascoe. The director was Frank Stevens.
- 1964: The Importance of Being Oscar (starring Irish actor Micheál Mac Liammóir) ran between 22 March and 2 May. The production was followed by a one-week season of I Must be Talking to My Friends (4-9 May), again starring Mac Liammóir.
- 1964: 'The comedy success of London and New York', Rattle of a Simple Man (by Charles Dyer) was especially brought back to Australia as a vehicle for John Meillon and June Salter (16 May - 25 July).
- 1964: Breakfast with Julia, Burton Graham's play set in Kings Cross, was produced in association with Melbourne's St Martin's Theatre at the Phillip Theatre beginning 29 July
- 1964: Another imported London production, adapted to Sydney and Australian sensibilities, was the highly satirical Beyond the Fringe. Originally devised by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathon Miller, the show ran at the Phillip between 8 September and 22 December. The Australian cast was Barry Brown, Alastair Duncan, John Ewart, and Brian Tapply.
- 1965: The Knack, by Ann Jellicoe, premiered on 19 February. The cast was Reg Livermore, Tom Oliver, Peter Whitford, and Janne Coghlan. New York director Eli Ask was brought in to oversee the production.
- 1965: Phillip Theatre, in association with Garnet H. Carroll, Aztec Services, and Australian Musical Productions, presented the hit off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks (Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt), beginning 7 September. The cast included Willie Fennell, Ron Shand, Brian Hannan, Robin Cuming, Rosalind Seagrave, Frank Lloyd, David Spuring, and Peter Dease. It was directed by Jeff Warren.
Phillip Street Theatre also staged a number of original chamber musicals (including children's musicals) over the course of its operations.
