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Comedy Theatre, Melbourne

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Coordinates:37°48′37″S144°58′13″E/ 37.81028°S 144.97028°E/-37.81028; 144.97028
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Comedy Theatre
Map
Address240Exhibition Street
Melbourne
Australia
Coordinates37°48′37″S144°58′13″E/ 37.81028°S 144.97028°E/-37.81028; 144.97028
OwnerMarriner Group
Capacity1003
Opened28 April 1928[1][2]
Website
www.marrinergroup.au

TheComedy Theatreis a 1003-seat theatre inMelbourne'sEast End Theatre District.It was built in 1928, and was designed in the Spanish style, with a Florentine-style exterior and wrought-iron balconies. It is located at 240Exhibition Street,and diagonally oppositeHer Majesty's Theatre.

It typically hosts commercial seasons of plays and smaller-scale musicals, as well as comedy and other entertainment events.

History

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The site at the corner ofLonsdaleandStephenstreets was from June 1842 to October 1854 an entertainment venue, "Rowe's American Circus",whereGeorge Benjamin William Lewisgained his foothold in Australia. In December 1854 it was licensed as the "Royal Victoria Theatre",[3]then demolished, to be replaced by a prefabricated iron building imported fromManchester,England forGeorge Coppin.Tentatively named "New Theatre",[4]it was christened on 11 June 1855 as "Coppin's Olympic Theatre",[5]and held its first theatrical performance on 30 July.[6] One of Melbourne's earliest play-houses, it was the venue of some ofGustavus Vaughan Brooke's greatest triumphs, but the "Iron Pot", as it came to be known,[7]was hot in summer and cold in winter[8]and was soon displaced by architecturally superior theatres, and was abandoned in 1894.

Opened on 28 April 1928,[1]the Comedy Theatre was built and operated for fifty years byJ. C. Williamson's.Paul Dainty purchased the theatre in 1978 for $800,000.[9]Since 1996 the theatre has been owned and operated by Marriner Group.

Previous productions

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Previous notable productions and performers at the Comedy Theatre include:[10]

[edit]
  • Fresco
    Fresco
  • Fresco detail
    Fresco detail
  • Fresco detail
    Fresco detail
  • Windows
    Windows
  • Theatre in December 2012
    Theatre in December 2012

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Comedy Theatre Opening".The Argus.Melbourne. 28 April 1928. p. 26.Retrieved4 December2012– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^"NEW MELBOURNE THEATRE".The Argus.Melbourne. 27 April 1928. p. 11.Retrieved4 December2012– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^"New Theatre".The Age.Vol. I, no. 39. Victoria, Australia. 1 December 1854. p. 5.Retrieved22 August2021– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^"New Theatre in Lonsdale Street".The Age.Vol. I, no. 156. Victoria, Australia. 19 April 1855. p. 5.Retrieved22 August2021– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^"Advertising".The Argus (Melbourne).No. 2522. Victoria, Australia. 9 June 1855. p. 8.Retrieved22 August2021– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^"Coppin's Olympic Theatre".The Argus.Melbourne. 27 July 1855. p. 4.Retrieved4 December2012– via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^"Melbourne's Oldest Theatres".The Mercury.Hobart, Tasmania. 21 January 1930. p. 2.Retrieved4 December2012– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^"Byone Days".The Australasian.Vol. XLI, no. 1063. Victoria, Australia. 14 August 1886. p. 8.Retrieved22 August2021– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^"Theatre bought".The Canberra Times.Vol. 52, no. 15, 584. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 May 1978. p. 18.Retrieved28 April2019– via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^"AusStage - Comedy Theatre".ausstage.edu.au.Retrieved27 April2019.
  11. ^"AusStage".
  12. ^"The Pirates of Penzance - Gilbert and Sullivan, Melbourne City Opera, Comedy Theatre, until Saturday".The Age. 30 November 2004.Retrieved26 December2023.
  13. ^"AusStage".
  14. ^"AusStage".
  15. ^"AusStage".
  16. ^"AusStage".
  17. ^"AusStage".
  18. ^"Yes, Prime Minister Cast Announced | Stage Whispers".
  19. ^"Madiba the Musical | Stage Whispers".
  20. ^"33 Variations (Comedy Theatre)".12 March 2019.
  21. ^https:// timeout /melbourne/theatre/the-mousetrap[bare URL]
  22. ^https:// timeout /melbourne/theatre/midnight-the-cinderella-musical[bare URL]
  23. ^https://concreteplayground /melbourne/event/winnie-the-pooh-the-new-stage-adaptation-melbourne[bare URL]
  24. ^https:// timeout /melbourne/comedy/tim-minchin[bare URL]
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