forthcoming and as a result, the theatre was sold to the State Government. Rather than seeing the theatre as a considerable cultural asset for the people of Brisbane, the Queensland government simply sold the theatre, in what can only be seen as a very short-sighted policy, to recoup monies spent. Queensland had no professional theatre company until the establishment of the Queensland Theatre Company in 1969. Considerable praise should be given to the role of Twelfth Night Theatre in the theatre history of Brisbane and Queensland. The current owner, Gail Wiltshire wrote of the deplorable state of the theatre building: "When I moved into Twelfth Night Theatre in 1977, the challenges were enormous, almost impossible - a debt of $1.3 million, a vandalised theatre. I kept thinking of the women in my past - the long sea journey, the dray, the babies buried in small wooden coffins, the house with a mud floor. Nothing was too difficult. But then I had an immediate source of inspiration - Marjorie Johnstone. How I loved that amazing woman. She gave me courage. She pulled no punches about human nature. There are the good ones and the duds. Sometimes bastards. She was right.'" at the end of 1976, the original Twelfth Night Theatre Company folded. In 1979, the successor group, TN! Theatre Company was spun-off to operate solely as a performing company that would lease whatever premises as required for performance. In 1986 it took a 10-year lease of the Princess Theatre in Woolloongabba, and its last performance was in 1991 due to financial difficulties. Later years Twelfth Night Theatre is the only privately owned theatre in Australia, owned by Ken and Gail Wiltshire. It is not controlled by any commercially funded or government organisation and receives no public grants from either the Queensland State or Australian federal governments. The Twelfth Night Theatre continues as a contemporary theatre and has attracted over a number of years various British comedies starring such well-known actors as John Inman from the long-running television series, Are You Being Served, Gorden Kaye and Sue Hodge from Allo Allo. Other commercial productions have included Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward starring Rowena Wallace and June Salter. In 2007, an Australian season of Allo Allo was staged starring actors from the original British television series, Gorden Kaye, Guy Siner and Sue Hodge. Stagedoor Dinner Theatre has run dinner theatre shows in the