Tivoli circuit

The Tivoli Circuit[1] was a successful and popular Australian vaudeville entertainment circuit featuring revue, opera, ballet, dance, singing, musical comedy, old time black and white minstrel and even Shakespeare which flourished from 1893 to the 1950s, and featured local and international performers from the United States and the United Kingdom.

[1] The circuit suffered a catastrophic decline in popularity after the introduction of television in Australia in 1956, although embracing the new medium and feature live half hour broadcasts from Sydney.

[1] The circuit was established by English music hall baritone and comedian Harry Rickards in 1893, following the success of his "New Tivoli Minstrel and Grand Specialty Company" who performed at the old Opera House in Sydney in 1892.

After success with large-scale stage productions such as Chu Chin Chow he sold the Tivoli circuit to George Musgrove in 1921.

It was subsequently acquired by J. C. Williamson Tivoli Vaudeville Pty Ltd in 1924, then by Mike Connors and Queenie Paul (in the Great Depression years), Musgrove Theatres, again in 1934 under Frank Neil and Wallace Parnell and, from 1944, David N. Martin, managing director of Tivoli Circuit of Australia.