The Playbox Theatre was a theatre located at 53-55 Exhibition Street in Melbourne, Australia, from 1927 to 1984. It became the home of the Playbox Theatre Company, previously Hoopla! and later Malthouse Theatre.
 | |
| Address | 53-55 Exhibition Street |
|---|---|
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°48′53″S 144°58′17″E / 37.8147178°S 144.9714239°E |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1927 |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Demolished | 1984 |
History edit
The theatre seating around 300 people was established by entrepreneurs Kenn Brodziak and Harry M. Miller, converted from the former Kelvin Hall built in 1927.[1] It opened in June 1969 with the controversial play The Boys in the Band.[2] Plays and musicals at the theatre in the early 1970s included Butterflies Are Free, Juggler's Three and Godspell.[3]
The Australian Film Institute leased the theatre for two years from mid-1974 to mid-1976.[4]
In 1977, the Playbox Theatre became the home of theatre company Hoopla!, which changed its name to the Playbox Theatre Company.[5]
A second smaller 80-seat theatre, the Playbox Upstairs, was established in the building in 1978, with the original theatre called the Playbox Downstairs.[5]
The theatre was destroyed by a fire in February 1984.[6] The building was later rebuilt as offices with the heritage stone facade retained.
References edit
- ^ "New theatre for Melbourne". Canberra Times. Vol. 43, no. 12, 247. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 28 February 1969. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "'Boys in Band' language case review". Canberra Times. Vol. 43, no. 12, 390. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 14 August 1969. p. 10 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Playbox Theatre". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ "AFI'S NEW CINEMA SOON". Filmnews. New South Wales, Australia. 1 July 1976. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b Milne, Geoffrey (2004). Theatre Australia (un)limited: Australian Theatre Since the 1950s. Rodopi. pp. 146–147. ISBN 9042009306.
- ^ "Fire destroys Melbourne theatre". Canberra Times. Vol. 58, no. 17, 664. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 February 1984. p. 8 – via National Library of Australia.