List of theatres in Melbourne

This is a list of theatres in Melbourne in Victoria, Australia.

Melbourne City Centre

The Melbourne City Centre has two distinct areas with concentrations of theatres: the East End, ^[1] situated in the Hoddle Grid, which contains many of Melbourne's historic theatres; and Southbank, which is home to the more contemporary venues of the Melbourne Arts Precinct.

East End, Hoddle Grid

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes	Image
Athenaeum Theatre	188 Collins Street	1927	880	theatre, comedy	Former hall remodelled as theatre in 1927 [2]
Capitol Theatre	113 Swanston Street	1924	600	films, comedy, talks, theatre	Cinema purchased by RMIT in 1999 [3]
Comedy Theatre	240 Exhibition Street	1928	997	theatre, comedy	Replaced one of Melbourne's earliest theatres, the Olympic Theatre [4]
Deakin Edge	Federation Square	2003	269–450	live music, events, talks
Forum Theatre	154 Flinders Street	1929	1,320	live music, comedy	Downstairs Auditorium seats 800, Upstairs Auditorium seats 520 [5]
Her Majesty's Theatre	219 Exhibition Street	1886	1,700	theatre, opera	Opened as the Alexandra Theatre [6]
Melbourne Town Hall	100 Swanston Street	1887	1,990	theatre, live music	Main Auditorium was rebuilt and enlarged in 1925 [7]
Princess Theatre	163 Spring Street	1857	1,488	theatre, comedy	Opened as Astley's Amphitheatre in 1854, renovated as the Princess Theatre in 1857 [8]
Regent Theatre	191 Collins Street	1929	2,143	theatre, opera	Former cinema reopened as a theatre in 1996 [9]

Arts Precinct, Southbank

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes
Beckett Theatre, Coopers Malthouse	113 Sturt Street	1990	198	theatre	Converted from a brewery built in 1892 [10]
Chunky Move Studio	111 Sturt Street	2002	144	dance	Part of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art [11]
Fairfax Studio	100 St Kilda Road	1984	376	theatre	Part of the Theatres Building of the Arts Centre Melbourne [12]
Hamer Hall	100 St Kilda Road	1982	2,466	live music, comedy, theatre	Part of Arts Centre Melbourne. [13]
Hanson Dyer Hall	43 Sturt Street	2019	400	live music	Ian Potter Southbank Centre, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Iwaki Auditorium	120–130 Southbank Boulevard	1994	350	live music, events	Part of the ABC's Southbank Centre [14]
The Lawler, Southbank Theatre	140 Southbank Boulevard	2009	150	theatre	Home of the Melbourne Theatre Company [15]
Elisabeth Murdoch Hall	31 Sturt Street (cnr Southbank Boulevard)	2009	1,000	live music	Melbourne Recital Centre [16]
Merlyn Theatre, Coopers Malthouse	113 Sturt Street	1990	512	theatre	Converted from a brewery built in 1892 [10]
The Palms at Crown	8 Whiteman Street, Southbank	1997	800	live music, comedy, theatre	Casino showroom [17]
Primrose Potter Salon	31 Sturt Street (cnr Southbank Boulevard)	2009	136	live music	Melbourne Recital Centre [16]
Federation Hall	234 St Kilda Road		221	live music, cinema	Part of the Victorian College of the Arts [18]
Playhouse	100 St Kilda Road	1984	884	theatre	Part of the Theatres Building of the Arts Centre Melbourne [19]
Sidney Myer Music Bowl	Kings Domain, St Kilda Road	1959	2,030	live music	Lawned area can hold an additional 10,000 patrons [20]
State Theatre	100 St Kilda Road	1984	2,085	theatre, opera, live music	Part of the Theatres Building of the Arts Centre Melbourne [21]
The Sumner, Southbank Theatre	140 Southbank Boulevard	2009	550	theatre	Home of the Melbourne Theatre Company [22]
Tower Theatre, Coopers Malthouse	113 Sturt Street	2005	99	theatre	Converted from a brewery built in 1892 [10]
Plenary Hall, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre	1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf	2009	5541	theatre, live music	Can be divided into three smaller theatres [23]

Independent/fringe

Notable venues for independent or fringe theatre in the Melbourne City Centre.

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes
Athenaeum Theatre 2	188 Collins Street	1979		comedy, theatre	Upstairs studio theatre at the Melbourne Athenaeum
The Butterfly Club	5 Carson Place	1999	76	cabaret, theatre, comedy
fortyfivedownstairs	45 Flinders Lane	2002	120	theatre, live music

Inner-Melbourne

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes
Alex Theatre St Kilda	Level 1, 135 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda	2015	499	theatre, comedy	Theatre 1 with 499 seats and Theatre 2 with 291 seats [24]
Brunswick Mechanics Institute	270 Sydney Road, Brunswick	1999	112	theatre
Chapel Off Chapel	12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran	1995	255	theatre
Dancehouse	150 Princes St, Carlton North	1992	104	dance
Festival Hall	300 Dudley Street	1919	1,741	live music	Up to 5,445 capacity standing
Footscray Community Arts Centre	45 Moreland Street, Footscray		174	theatre, music, events
Gasworks Arts Park	21 Graham Street, Albert Park	1992	192	theatre
La Mama Theatre	205 Faraday Street, Carlton	1967	40	theatre	[25]
La Mama Courthouse	349 Drummond Street, Carlton	1987	90	theatre	Former Carlton Courthouse built in 1887
Meat Market	5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne	1880		theatre, dance, live art	Part of Arts House
Melba Hall	Royal Parade, Parkville	1913	340	Music
Melba Spiegeltent	35 Johnston Street, Collingwood			circus, cabaret
National Theatre	cnr Barkly & Carlisle Streets, St Kilda	1972	783	theatre, dance	Originally opened as the Victory Cinema in 1921 [26]
Northcote Town Hall	189 High Street, Northcote		350	theatre	[27]
North Melbourne Town Hall	521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne			theatre, dance, live art	Part of Arts House
Palais Theatre	Lower Esplanade, St Kilda	1927	2,896	theatre, comedy, live music	Largest seated theatre in Australia [28]
The Plenary, MCEC	South Wharf	2009	5,540	live music, dance, events	Also configurations seating 1,482, 1,484 and 2,468
Red Stitch Actors Theatre	Rear, 2 Chapel Street, St Kilda East		80	theatre
Richmond Theatrette	415 Church Street, Richmond		80–120	theatre
Theatre Works	14 Acland Street, St Kilda	1985	144	theatre	[29]
Thornbury Theatre	859 High Street, Thornbury			theatre
Trades Hall	54 Victoria Street, Carlton		340

Suburban

Name	Address	Seats	Use	Notes
Frankston Arts Centre	27–37 Davey Street, Frankston	800	theatre, events, live music	Houses Victoria's second largest proscenium arch
The Bowery Theatre at St Albans Community Centre	Princess Street, St Albans	202	theatre, dance, live music, events
Clocktower Centre	750 Mt Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds	503–545	theatre, conferences, events	[30]
Whitehorse Centre	Rear of, 379–397 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading	408	theatre, live music	[31]
Karralyka Theatre	Mines Road, Ringwood	430	theatre, live music	[32]
Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre	Cnr Bell Street & St Georges Road, Preston	385	theatre, events	[33]
Wydnham Cultural Centre	177 Watton Street, Werribee	477	theatre, dance, live music	[34]
Drum Theatre	Lonsdale Street & Walker Street, Dandenong	521	theatre, dance, live music	[35]
Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre	35 Ferres Boulevard, South Morang	497	theatre, events	[36]
Robert Blackwood Hall	49 Scenic Boulevard, Clayton	1598	live music, events	Part of Monash University's Clayton campus [37]
Alexander Theatre	49 Scenic Boulevard, Clayton	586	theatre, live music, dance	[38]
George Wood Performing Arts Centre	Yarra Valley Grammar School, Kalinda Road, Ringwood	895	live music, events, dance	[39]
George Jenkins Theatre	McMahons Road, Frankston	426	theatre, dance, conferences	Part of Monash University's Peninsula campus [40]
Bunjil Place Theatre	2 Patrick Northeast Drive, Narre Warren	846	theatre, events, live music	[41]
Bunjil Place Studio	2 Patrick Northeast Drive, Narre Warren	200	theatre, events	[42]

See also

• List of theatres in Sydney
• List of theatres in Hobart

References

1. Melbourne celebrates newly named East End Theatre District Archived 21 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine , TheatrePeople. Retrieved 19 August 2014
2. Athenaeum Theatre. Retrieved 17 February 2014
3. Capitol Theatre Archived 7 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine , Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Retrieved 17 February 2014
4. Comedy Theatre Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Marriner Group. Retrieved 17 February 2014
5. Forum Theatre, Marriner Group. Retrieved 17 February 2014
6. Her Majesty's Theatre. Retrieved 17 February 2014
7. Melbourne Town Hall, Epicure Catering. Retrieved 17 February 2014
8. Princess Theatre Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Marriner Group. Retrieved 17 February 2014
9. Regent Theatre Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Marriner Group. Retrieved 17 February 2014
10. Malthouse Theatre. Retrieved 17 February 2014
11. "Chunky Move Studios Technical Specifications" (PDF). Chunky Move. 30 September 2017.
12. Fairfax Studio. Arts Centre Melbourne. Retrieved 17 February 2014
13. Hamer Hall. Arts Centre Melbourne. Retrieved 17 February 2014
14. Iwaki Auditorium, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 February 2014
15. The Lawler – Melbourne Theatre Company. Retrieved 20 May 2014
16. Melbourne Recital Centre. Retrieved 20 December 2017
17. "The Palms at Crown".
18. "Facilities — Victorian College of the Arts". vca.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
19. Playhouse. Arts Centre Melbourne. Retrieved 17 February 2014
20. Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Arts Centre Melbourne. Retrieved 17 February 2014
21. State Theatre. Arts Centre Melbourne. Retrieved 17 February 2014
22. The Sumner – Melbourne Theatre Company. Retrieved 20 May 2014
23. Plenary Hall Retrieved 20 April 2019
24. "Introducing the Alex Theatre St Kilda". 12 November 2014.
25. La Mama Theatre. Retrieved 17 February 2014
26. National Theatre. Retrieved 17 February 2014
27. Hall, corporateName=Northcote Town. "Northcote Town Hall Homepage". www.northcotetownhall.com.au. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
28. Palais Theatre Archived 21 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 17 February 2014
29. Theatre Works. Retrieved 20 May 2014
30. "The Clocktower Centre - The Clocktower Centre, Melbourne Australia". www.clocktowercentre.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
31. "Whitehorse Centre - Theatre Hire". www.whitehorsecentre.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
32. "Karralyka Theatre". www.karralyka.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
33. "Darebin Arts Entertainment Centre". www.darebinartscentre.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
34. "Venue Hire - Cultural Centre".
35. "The Drum". www.drumtheatre.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017.
36. "Theatre Hire - Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre". www.pracc.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
37. "Robert Blackwood Hall - Monash Academy of Performing Arts". Monash Academy of Performing Arts. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
38. "Alexander Theatre - Monash Academy of Performing Arts". Monash Academy of Performing Arts. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
39. "George Wood Performing Arts Centre Venue Specs". 103.36.5.234. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
40. "George Jenkins Theatre - Monash Academy of Performing Arts". Monash Academy of Performing Arts. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
41. "Bunjil Place Theatre". www.bunjilplace.com.au. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
42. "Bunjil Place Studio". www.bunjilplace.com.au. Retrieved 27 July 2022.