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An aerial shot of Arts Centre Melbourne.
Photograph: Mark Gambino

Arts Centre Melbourne

With its instantly recognisable spire, Arts Centre Melbourne is one the city's most revered cultural landmarks
  • Theatre
  • Southbank
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Leah Glynn
Written by Leah Glynn
Melbourne Editor
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Time Out says

As the focal point of Melbourne's famed cultural precinct, Arts Centre Melbourne is Australia's largest and busiest performing arts venue.

Housing an array of venues that include Hamer Hall, the Playhouse, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the State Theatre and Fairfax Studio (and various exhibition spaces), it plays host to more than 4,400 performances and public events each year.

Since it opened in 1984, it has partnered with national and state companies like Opera Australia, the Australian Ballet, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphone Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company, Victorian Opera, Bangarra Dance Theatre and Sydney Dance Company.

There's so much more to Arts Centre Melbourne than what's on stage though. You can take part in behind-the-scenes tours of the Australian Performing Arts Collection, check out the free Australian Music Vault exhibition (which includes material from icons like Kylie Minogue and Olivia Newton-John), and learn about the design and architecture on a venue tour.

And in December, the brand new Australian Museum of Performing Arts will open – it will blend exclusive pieces from its permanent collection with internationally acclaimed touring exhibitions. Think Dame Edna Everage's ostentatious ‘Scream Dress', Dame Nellie Melba’s exquisite silk stage cloak, and Bon Scott’s leather jacket. 

If you're looking to grab a pre-show drink or meal, head to The Barre or Protagonist café.

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

Want more? This is the best of Melbourne theatre and musicals this month.

Details

Address
100 St Kilda Rd
Melbourne
3004
Transport:
Nearby stations: Flinders Street
Opening hours:
Mon-Wed 7am-6pm; Thu-Fri 7am-10pm; Sat 8.30am-10pm; Sun 10am-5pm

What’s on

Diva

From Marilyn Monroe’s fringed black dress in Some Like It Hot to Elton John’s Louis XIV–inspired birthday suit (complete with the powdered wig and train), the diva has always known how to turn getting dressed into an art form. Enter Diva, the debut exhibition at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts (AMPA). This is a glittering celebration of the artists who’ve shaped pop culture, music and fashion through imagination, talent – and, of course, by being a total diva. Charting the 19th-century opera goddesses and silent film stars to today’s global megastars, the exhibition will showcase the rise of the diva by going behind the sequins to reveal the cultural power and artistry of some of the world’s most captivating performers.  Presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), this Australian exclusive brings together more than 250 objects, including 60 spectacular costumes, jewellery, photography and handwritten lyrics spanning opera, pop, punk and Hollywood. Expect a red-carpet roll call of icons: Maria Callas, Grace Jones, Cher, Prince, Madonna, Elton John, Tina Turner, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, Billie Eilish and more. Australia’s own legends get their time on the red carpet, too — from Dame Nellie Melba and Peter Allen to Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Jessica Mauboy and Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers. Discover exquisite garments by Bob Mackie, Vivienne Westwood, Maison Margiela, Valentino and Christian Dior,...
  • Design

Heathers the Musical

4 out of 5 stars
“What’s your damage?” One of the many endlessly quotable lines spouted by Winona Ryder’s Veronica and co in Michael Lehmann’s jet-back comedy, Heathers (1989), it’s also the least likely to get you fired from work. The one about the chainsaw? Not so much… Both explosive utterances make it to the delightfully diabolical stage adaptation, Heathers the Musical. With a book, music and lyrics from the Legally Blonde the Musical team-up of Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, it follows an unending parade of non-musical films adapted into song-and-dance stage versions, including Back to the Future, 9 to 5, Groundhog Day, Cruel Intentions, Pretty Woman and Mrs Doubtfire. Are we going to prom or to hell with this take? Directed by Andy Fickman with musical direction from Martine Wengrow, Heathers the Musical may be cheesier than the goofy yet undeniably brutal movie, but the slushy-driven “teen-angst bullshit” spirit of the Westerberg High cohort is still present and incorrect. Far more so than, say, the recent jukebox tone-down of far bleaker film, Saturday Night Fever. It really works, though costume designer David Shields’ popping Veronica in blue over black, is a step too far, copied and pasted from a million teen films, notably Allison in The Breakfast Club. Shields’ school set design is also rather perfunctory, as is Ben Cracknell’s basic lighting, but thank goodness the ensemble ably distracts.  How are those teenagers who want to be treated like human beings? Leading the...
  • Musicals

My Fair Lady

We could have danced all night when we heard the news that one of the most beloved musicals of all time is heading back to Melbourne. That's right, a new production of My Fair Lady opens at the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Ian Potter State Theatre this November, celebrating 70 years since its Broadway debut. Staged by Opera Australia and John Frost for Crossroads Live, the revival marks 70 years since Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe first brought their adaptation of Pygmalion to the stage, a show that has since become shorthand for musical theatre's golden age. Should you be in need of a refresher, My Fair Lady follows Cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle, who is plucked from the mean streets of Covent Garden and transformed into a 'lady' by the exacting (and often exasperating) Professor Henry Higgins. It's a time-tested story of class identity and transformation, carried by some of the most recognisable tunes in musical theatre, such as 'Wouldn't it be Loverly?', 'I Could Have Danced All Night' and 'Get Me to the Church on Time'. Running from November 14 to December 13, the upcoming production is based on the lavish 2016 revival, directed by the one and only Julie Andrews, who famously took on the role of Eliza Doolittle at just 20. It will arrive in Melbourne hot on the heels of a run at Sydney Opera House, and will be the first major musical to grace the Ian Potter State Theatre following its huge refurbishment. The casting for My Fair Lady will see both theatre...
  • Musicals
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