Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Contemporary theatre in Southbank, Melbourne, Australia
Malthouse Theatre is a contemporary theatre in the Southbank district of Melbourne, Australia, with multiple performance spaces of different sizes. The largest seats around 500 people, while smaller rooms allow for more up-close stagings.
The company was founded in the early 1980s by a group of theatre makers who wanted to develop work outside Melbourne's mainstream stages. It later moved into the old brewery building in Southbank, where it has remained ever since.
The Malthouse Theatre is housed in a former 19th-century brewery, and the building's industrial past is still visible in the brick walls and exposed beams inside. This setting gives performances a raw, warehouse-like quality that feels different from a conventional theatre.
The theatre sits in Southbank, close to other major cultural venues along the Yarra River, making it easy to combine with a walk through the area. Arriving early is a good idea, as the foyer often displays work connected to current productions.
Unlike many theatres that program visiting companies, the Malthouse has its own resident company that develops and rehearses work on site throughout the year. This means some productions are built from the ground up in the building itself, and open rehearsals or work-in-progress events are sometimes held for the public.
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