Comedy Theatre, Melbourne

History

The site at the corner of Lonsdale and Stephen streets was from June 1842 to October 1854 an entertainment venue, "Rowe's American Circus", where George Benjamin William Lewis gained his foothold in Australia. In December 1854 it was licensed as the "Royal Victoria Theatre", then demolished, to be replaced by a prefabricated iron building imported from Manchester, England for George Coppin. Tentatively named "New Theatre", it was christened on 11 June 1855 as "Coppin's Olympic Theatre", and held its first theatrical performance on 30 July. One of Melbourne's earliest play-houses, it was the venue of some of Gustavus Vaughan Brooke's greatest triumphs, but the "Iron Pot", as it came to be known, was hot in summer and cold in winter. It was soon displaced by architecturally superior theatres, and was abandoned in 1894.

Opened on 28 April 1928, Since 1996, the theatre has been owned and operated by Marriner Group.

Previous productions

Previous notable productions and performers at the Comedy Theatre include:

• 1928: Our Betters
• 1945: Blithe Spirit
• 1946: The Kiwis Revue Company
• 1949: Born Yesterday
• 1950: A Streetcar Named Desire
• 1956: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
• 1958: The Shifting Heart
• 1960: Phillip Street Revue
• 1961: Irma la Douce, The Sentimental Bloke
• 1963: A Shot in the Dark, Goodnight Mrs. Puffin, Mary, Mary
• 1966: Barry Humphries, The Boys from Syracuse, The Odd Couple
• 1967: Half a Sixpence, There's a Girl in My Soup
• 1968: Man of La Mancha
• 1969: The Boy Friend, Your Own Thing, Plaza Suite, Canterbury Tales
• 1972: Jesus Christ Revolution, Last of the Red Hot Lovers
• 1973: Godspell, A Voyage Round My Father
• 1977: Side by Side by Sondheim
• 1980: Boy's Own McBeth, Piaf, A Star is Torn
• 1981: They're Playing Our Song, The Dresser, Chicago,
• 1982: The Rocky Horror Show, Candide, One Mo' Time
• 1983: Noises Off, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• 1985: Little Shop of Horrors, Stepping Out
• 1986: Brighton Beach Memoirs
• 1987: Nine, Jerry's Girls
• 1988: The Rocky Horror Show, Seven Little Australians
• 1990: Steaming
• 1992: The New Rocky Horror Show, Return to the Forbidden Planet
• 1993: Aspects of Love, High Society
• 1994: Blood Brothers
• 1995: Shirley Valentine, An Inspector Calls, Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera
• 1997: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Trainspotting
• 1999: Rent
• 2002: Slava's Snowshow
• 2003: La Bohème, Noises Off
• 2004: XXX, Carmen, The Barber of Seville, The Pirates of Penzance
• 2005: Menopause - the Musical, My Fair Lady, Stuff Happens, La Traviata
• 2006: Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, The Woman in Black
• 2007: Under Milk Wood, Keating!, Alan Bennett's Talking Heads
• 2008: Boeing-Boeing, The Rocky Horror Show
• 2009: Stephen K. Amos: Find the Funny!, Tripod, Dave Hughes is Handy, Avenue Q
• 2010: Wilful Misconduct, Waiting for Godot, Calendar Girls
• 2011: Rock of Ages
• 2012: Yes, Prime Minister, Driving Miss Daisy, Flowerchildren - The Mamas and Papas Story, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap
• 2013: Slava's Snow Show, Stomp
• 2014: The Rocky Horror Show; Mother and Son, The Last Confession
• 2015: The Rocky Horror Show
• 2016: Dawn French (Thirty Million Minutes), Little Shop of Horrors, Fawlty Towers
• 2017: The Play That Goes Wrong, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs, Blame it On Bianca Del Rio
• 2018: American Idiot, Madiba the Musical
• 2019: Calamity Jane, 33 Variations, Barnum, Come from Away
• 2021: Come From Away (return season)
• 2022: Girl from the North Country, Jagged Little Pill, Six, Come From Away (return season), A Christmas Carol
• 2023: Tick, Tick... Boom!, The Mousetrap, Once, Midnight: The Cinderella Musical, Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation, An Unfunny Evening With Tim Minchin And His Piano, A Christmas Carol (return season)
• 2024: Fantastic Mr Fox, Gaslight, The Odd Couple (play), Six (musical)

Gallery

File:ComedyTheatreMelbournefresco1.JPG|Fresco File:ComedyTheatreMelbournefresco2.JPG|Fresco detail File:ComedyTheatreMelbournefresco3.JPG|Fresco detail File:ComedyTheatreMelbournewindows.JPG|Windows File:Comedy Theatre in December 2012.jpg|Theatre in December 2012

References

References

1. (28 April 1928). "Comedy Theatre Opening.". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
2. (27 April 1928). "NEW MELBOURNE THEATRE.". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
3. (1 December 1854). "New Theatre". [[The Age]].
4. (19 April 1855). "New Theatre in Lonsdale Street". [[The Age]].
5. (9 June 1855). "Advertising". [[The Argus (Melbourne)]].
6. (27 July 1855). "Coppin's Olympic Theatre". [[The Argus (Melbourne).
7. (21 January 1930). "Melbourne's Oldest Theatres". [[The Mercury (Hobart).
8. (14 August 1886). "Byone Days". [[The Australasian]].
9. (23 May 1978). "Theatre bought". [[The Canberra Times]].
10. "AusStage - Comedy Theatre".
11. "AusStage".
12. (30 November 2004). "The Pirates of Penzance - Gilbert and Sullivan, Melbourne City Opera, Comedy Theatre, until Saturday". The Age.
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. (12 March 2019). "33 Variations (Comedy Theatre)".
21. "Review: The Mousetrap at the Comedy Theatre ★★★". Time Out Melbourne.
22. "Review: Midnight: The Cinderella Musical at the Comedy Theatre ★★★". Time Out Melbourne.
23. "Winnie the Pooh: The New Stage Adaptation".
24. "An Unfunny Evening with Tim Minchin and his Piano | Extra dates added". Time Out Melbourne.