As you sit in Arts Centre Melbourne's heritage State Theatre to enjoy an opera, ballet or musical, tilt your head back a little to take in the amazing ceiling and its 75,000 tiny brass cups.
As part of Reimagining Arts Centre Melbourne, the State Theatre is set to close for refurbishment from April 2024, for the first time after 40 years of hosting world-class performances. The Australian Ballet will be the last company to perform in the State Theatre before it closes for refurbishment, with final performances taking place during the last week of March 2024. Find out more about the State Theatre's closure and reopen date.
The State Theatre is home to two of our fabulous resident companies: The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia.
Keeping the show you’re about to see a tantalising mystery is the ‘stately’, majestic, famous curtain, designed by Graham Bennett, emblazoned with hand-painted Victorian wildflowers, the state’s Coat of Arms and an outspread lyrebird’s tail. The curtain was donated by the former State Bank of Victoria when the theatre opened in 1984.
Hiding behind the curtain is a huge stage that’s equivalent to the floor space of eight suburban homes.
Before the lights go down, try counting those 75,000 tiny brass cups decorating the ceiling. Each one is drilled with several holes to ensure the fire sprinklers hidden behind them are in excellent working order!
Seat base measurements for State Theatre are as follows:
Depth: 450mm
Width: 420mm
Weight capacity: 120 kg
All our venue seats have armrests, excluding the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Upon request, we have 2 bariatric seats available for use in all venues, excluding the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The use of bariatric seats are restricted to certain areas within each auditorium. Please call to discuss your booking via the Contact Centre on 1300 182 183.
Bariatric 1: D 480mm W 600mm – 220kg weight capacity
Bariatric 2: D 480mm W 600mm – 300kg weight capacity
We are located at 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, just across the Yarra River from Flinders St Station. We have our own car park and there are also multiple public transport options for getting here.
If you book tickets online, you can use the “Select your own Seat” option to choose seats straight from the map – and if you click the little camera up in the top left hand corner, we will even give you a cheeky peek at what it looks like to sit from different parts of our theatres. There are also downloadable maps available on the pages of each of our main venues.
100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004
PO Box 7585, Melbourne VIC 8004
1300 182 183
tickets@artscentremelbourne.com.au
Monday – Friday: 9:00am – 4:30pm
Due to current government guidelines, our Box Offices are only open pre-show. The Theatres Building Box Office opens 90 minutes before the show.*
*Hours are subject to change around performance times
