List of theatres in the Melbourne City Centre

This is a list of theatres located in the City Centre of Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. 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.

Mainstage

East End, Hoddle Grid

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes
Athenaeum Theatre	188 Collins Street	1927	880	theatre, comedy	Opened in 1842. Theatre remodelled in current form in 1927.[2]
Comedy Theatre	240 Exhibition Street	1928	997	theatre, comedy	Built on the site of one of Melbourne's earliest theatres, the Olympic Theatre.[3]
Forum Theatre	154 Flinders Street	1929	1,320	live music, comedy	Downstairs Auditorium seats 800, Upstairs Auditorium seats 520.[4]
Her Majesty's Theatre	219 Exhibition Street	1886	1,700	theatre, opera	Opened as the Alexandra Theatre.[5]
Melbourne Town Hall	100 Swanston Street	1887	1,990	theatre, live music	Main Auditorium was rebuilt and enlarged in 1925.[6]
Princess Theatre	163 Spring Street	1857	1,488	theatre, comedy	Opened as Astley's Amphitheatre in 1854. Renovated as the Princess Theatre in 1857.[7]
Regent Theatre	191 Collins Street	1929	2,143	theatre, opera	Originally a cinema, and reopened as a theatre in 1996.[8]
RMIT Capitol Theatre	113 Swanston Street	1924	600	university lectures, comedy	Originally a cinema, and reopened as a lecture theatre in 1999.[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	300	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	2,464	live music, comedy, theatre	Forms part of the Arts Centre Melbourne.[13]
Iwaki Auditorium	120-130 Southbank Boulevard	1994	400	live music	Part of the ABC's Southbank Centre.[14]
The Lawler, Southbank Theatre	140 Southbank Boulevard	2009	150	theatre	Home of the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC).[15]
Melbourne Recital Centre	cnr Southbank Boulevard and Sturt Street	2009	1,136	live music	Adjoins the MTC Southbank Theatre.[16]
Merlyn Theatre, Coopers Malthouse	113 Sturt Street	1990	512	theatre	Converted from a brewery built in 1892.[17]
Playhouse	100 St Kilda Road	1984	884	theatre	Part of the Theatres Building of the Arts Centre Melbourne.[18]
Sidney Myer Music Bowl	Kings Domain, St Kilda Road	1959	2,030	live music	The lawned area can hold an additional 10,000 patrons.[19]
State Theatre	100 St Kilda Road	1984	2,085	theatre, opera, live music	Part of the Theatres Building of the Arts Centre Melbourne.[20]
The Sumner, Southbank Theatre	140 Southbank Boulevard	2009	500	theatre	Home of the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC).[21]

Other

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes
Alex Theatre St Kilda	Level 1, 135 Fitzroy St, St Kilda	2015	499	theatre, comedy	Theatre 1 with 499 seats and Theatre 2 with 291 seats[22]
National Theatre	cnr Barkly Street and Carlisle Street, St Kilda	1972	783	theatre, dance	Originally opened as the Victory Cinema in 1921.[23]
Palais Theatre	Lower Esplanade, St Kilda	1927	2,896	theatre, comedy, live music	Largest seated theatre in Australia.[24]
The Palms at Crown	8 Whiteman Street, Southbank	1997	800	live music, comedy, theatre	Casino showroom.[25]

Independent/fringe

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

Name	Address	Opened	Seats	Use	Notes
Arts House	521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne
Brunswick Mechanics Institute	270 Sydney Rd, Brunswick		100
The Butterfly Club	5 Carson Place
Chapel Off Chapel	12 Little Chapel St, Prahran	1995	255
Footscray Community Arts Centre	45 Moreland St, Footscray
fortyfivedownstairs	45 Flinders Lane	2002
Gasworks Arts Park	21 Graham St, Albert Park
La Mama Theatre	205 Faraday St, Carlton	1967	40	theatre	Also operates La Mama Courthouse which seats 100 approx.[26]
Melba Spiegeltent	35 Johnston St, Collingwood
Northcote Town Hall	189 High St, Northcote
The Owl and Cat Theatre	34 Swan St, Richmond	2010
Red Stitch Actors Theatre	Rear, 2 Chapel St, St Kilda East
Theatre Works	14 Acland St, St Kilda	1985	144	theatre	Independent theatre.[27]
Tower Theatre, Coopers Malthouse	113 Sturt Street	2005	99	theatre	Converted from a brewery built in 1892.[28]
Trades Hall	54 Victoria St, Carlton

References

1. Melbourne celebrates newly named East End Theatre District, TheatrePeople, retrieved 19 August 2014
2. Athenaeum Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
3. Comedy Theatre, Marriner Group, retrieved 17 February 2014
4. Forum Theatre, Marriner Group, retrieved 17 February 2014
5. Her Majesty's Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
6. Melbourne Town Hall, Epicure Catering, retrieved 17 February 2014
7. Princess Theatre, Marriner Group, retrieved 17 February 2014
8. Regent Theatre, Marriner Group, retrieved 17 February 2014
9. Capitol Theatre, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), retrieved 17 February 2014
10. Malthouse Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
11. Studio, Chunky Move, retrieved 17 February 2014
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 (ABC), retrieved 17 February 2014
15. The Lawler - Melbourne Theatre Company, retrieved 20 May 2014
16. Melbourne Recital Centre, retrieved 17 February 2014
17. Malthouse Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
18. Playhouse. Arts Centre Melbourne, retrieved 17 February 2014
19. Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Arts Centre Melbourne, retrieved 17 February 2014
20. State Theatre. Arts Centre Melbourne, retrieved 17 February 2014
21. The Sumner - Melbourne Theatre Company, retrieved 20 May 2014
22. http://artsreview.com.au/introducing-the-alex-theatre-st-kilda/
23. National Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
24. Palais Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
25. http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/the-palms-at-crown#.VxXd9Efl98s
26. La Mama Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014
27. Theatre Works, retrieved 20 May 2014
28. Malthouse Theatre, retrieved 17 February 2014