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Princess Theatre 163 Spring Street, Melbourne, VIC

There is a strong connection between Judy Banks and Melbourne’s Princess Theatre centering on her prominent stage career during the mid-20th century.

She was a nurtured talent under the theatre’s legendary entrepreneur, Garnet H. Carroll, performing in major musical productions hosted at the historic venue.

Notable Performances at the Princess Theatre follow -

Judy Banks (1935–2022), who later became a pioneering Melbourne television and children’s radio host, starred in several landmark productions at the Princess Theatre:

• Salad Days (1957): Banks played the juvenile lead in this incredibly popular musical comedy, which served as a major launching pad for her early performing career.

• Free as Air (1958): She starred in the Melbourne season of this British musical following its debut at the Princess Theatre.

• Lock Up Your Daughters (1961): She continued her run of musical comedy leads, performing in the Melbourne production opening in April 1961.

• Robert and Elizabeth (1966): In the original Australian production of this acclaimed musical, Banks played the standout role of the “lively, lisping cousin Bella”. She shared the Princess Theatre stage alongside Australian theatre royalty, including June Bronhill and Frank Thring.

The Television connection - Judy Banks was also one of the hosts and performers on the early children’s TV program “The Peters Club”. The show ran on GTV9 from 1958 until 1959. Judy was joined by Joff Ellen, Gwenda Beard and Rod McLennan as Presenters and Hosts. It was sponsored by Peters Ice Cream (“The Health Food of a Nation”) and Produced by Crawford Productions - Photo and notes referring to this paragraph by “Back to Crawford Productions”

Contributed by Greg Lynch -