'Glory Days' - Reliving the Palais
A new documentary about the iconic Palais Royale theatre in Newcastle will be launched tonight at the University of Newcastle.
'Glory Days - Reliving the Palais' is the work of final-year Bachelor of Communication students Lexie Durbridge and Thomas Hancock, who have produced the documentary as their major work for the Media Project course.
Lexie and Thomas, both 21, originally planned a 10 minute documentary on the Palais, but were so overwhelmed with information that they extended the piece to 28 minutes.
"We were literally inundated with archival material and people willing to talk about their experiences at the Palais," Thomas said.
"Our documentary takes a look at some of the personal stories from the Palais, through its various phases and faces as one of Newcastle’s premier entertainment venues.
"It is an iconic landmark which will be demolished to make way for an eight-storey apartment block as part of a 'revitalised' Newcastle CBD. Many of the people we have spoken to are up in arms about the impending development, while others are glad to see the Palais go.
"Either way, 'Glory Days' asks questions about development and our society's value of heritage. We are seeing Newcastle city revived for a new cosmopolitan way of living - but at what cost?"
The documentary has been five months in the making, with Thomas as writer and director, and Lexie as producer.
It will be launched tonight at 6pm in room 334 in the Information, Communications and Technology building at the University of Newcastle's Callaghan campus.