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Regent Theatre

  • Theatre
  • Melbourne
  1. Outside facade of Regent Theatre around dusk
    Photograph: Visit Victoria
  2. Regent Theatre 2019 supplied photo
    Photograph: Supplied
  3. Two people standing on the golden stairs outside Regent Theatre
    Photograph: Visit Victoria
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Time Out says

Update 06/11/2020: Regent Theatre remains closed for performances, it has reopened for lunch and dinner bookings in its private suites that overlook Collins Street. Bookings can be made for groups of ten between November 14 and December 23, and include three courses plus drinks. Booking enquiries should be made via events@marrinergroup.com.au.

Melbourne's lavish Regent Theatre was first opened in 1929 as a picture palace that embodied the glorious fantasy and escapism of the Hollywood era. There's no denying the venue's opulence, which has earned it a place on Victoria's Heritage Register and a listing on the National Trust of Australia. 

When audiences stroll through the golden halls and stare up at the plush red velvet curtains, it's hard to imagine that Regent Theatre was at one stage slated for demolition. Following a fire in 1945 and a decline in grandiose picture palaces, the Regent was closed and much of it's fixtures auctioned off. Having survived the threat of being turned into a car park, the Regent was renovated and reopened in 1996 for stage productions.

These days Regent Theatre in managed by the Marriner Group, can seat 2,145 guests and has hosted some of the biggest shows to come to Melbourne (such as The Lion King and Wicked). The theatre was further refurbished in 2019. 

Details

Address:
191 Collins St
Melbourne
3000
Transport:
Nearby stations: Flinders Street

What’s on

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Musicals

When the multiple Tony Award-winning Moulin Rouge! The Musical, adapted from the 2001 jukebox extravaganza film by Australian director Baz Luhrmann, first can-can-canned its way into Melbourne, we had barely staggered out of lockdown.  Walking into the already-majestic Regent Theatre ablaze with the red light district glow of thousands of hand-painted bulbs, a dozen glittering chandeliers and spanned by great arched hearts felt like actual Absinthe fairy magic, drunkenly transporting us half the world away and back in time to the infamous Parisian club’s heyday.  Returning to the Regent Theatre for this encore run, directed by Jennifer Sarah Dean locally from a book by John Logan, I wondered if the wow factor would still inspire awe. It sure does. Derek McLane’s dazzling scenic design, realised here by Isabel Hudson and illuminated by Gavin Swift following Justin Townsend’s creation, literally spills off stage and through the fourth wall, past a towering blue elephant and the club’s world-famous windmill commanding royal boxes on either side. Before the lights even go down, limbering dancers weave through the audience. Returning stars Alinta Chidzey and Des Flanagan impress all the more now they’ve lived so long in the roles of rags to riches courtesan Satine, the fake diamond of this financially struggling club, and her penniless, naïve would-be suitor Christian. As depicted by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in the movie, while the former handled the movie’s big musical num

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