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Starring role returns for town theatre
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But a local told him of the theatre's heritage _ in the 1930s the Paragon was the pride of Queenstown and could hold an audience of 1100. The Zimbabwe-born doctor started renovating the art-deco theatre with a new aim _ to give the West Coast a luxury cinema. These labours paid off in November when the new Paragon opened for business with 72 leather armchairs, a cafe and films twice a day. One of the main features is a film made by Dr Stevenson, A Brief History of this Spot, which he says takes in ``the history of the theatre, the history of Queenstown, the history of convict settlement on the West Coast, the Aboriginal history, the history of the fauna and flora, of the rocks and mountains and, finally, of the world, the solar system, the galaxy and the universe itself''. The pavement outside already has a touch of Hollywood, where Jonathan auf der Heide, director of Van Diemens Land, has been installed as the first Paragon star. There's a touch of old Queenie in the bicycle skidmark running lightly over the top of it, too. Last month the Paragon was a key player in the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival and proudly showed off Australian-influenced films such as Happy Feet, Moulin Rouge, The Sound of one Hand Clapping and Van Diemens Land. Half an hour away in Strahan, another hotbed of artistic expression is still going strong. My visit to the vibrant coastal tourism town is late autumn and of an evening the sounds of laughter can be heard from the Round Earth Company's interactive play, The Ship that Never Was. Playwright Richard Davey and daughter Kiah are guiding The Ship through its 17th annual passage. They say it is Australia's longest running show, homing in on 4500 performances. The show has just gone into its winter recess, but will be back in September to continue the extraordinary run. I have to be careful not to gush about The Ship. It is my favourite Tasmanian tourism venture and tells the true story of the Frederick, the last ship to be built by the convicts at Sarah Island. The story of the convicts' bold escape and journey to South America is true but the telling is wildly and wonderfully embellished; audience members are dragged in to play roles and every corny double entendre is milked beautifully. I sit in the audience on this autumn evening and marvel at the energy of Richard and Kiah Davey. There's a magic in the air as the pantomime gags roll on and the audience members, quite simply, lose it. Each night the Round Earth players must read and win over a different audience. So how do they measure success after 4500 shows? ``When the women start dabbing their eyes, we know it's gone well,'' says Kiah Davey.
IF YOU GO
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THERE was a moment in the renovation of the Paragon Theatre that sticks in Alex Stevenson's mind. 
