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Story: Theatres, cinemas and halls

Theatre Royal: a packed house

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Theatre Royal: a packed house

A crowd attends a performance of The runaway girl at Nelson's Theatre Royal in October 1913. The view highlights the formality of theatre-going during this time: the men are dressed in dinner or lounge suits, and the women wear smart dresses. 

Using this item

Nelson Provincial Museum, F. N. Jones Collection

Reference: 310107

Permission must be sought from Nelson Provincial Museum before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Ben Schrader, Theatres, cinemas and halls – Colonial period, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/42373/theatre-royal-a-packed-house (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ben Schrader, published 21 August 2013.