Comedy Theatre, Historic theatre in Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Australia
The Comedy Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre on Exhibition Street in central Melbourne, with a Florentine-style facade and a Spanish-influenced interior. The building has two levels and seats close to 1,000 people, with a foyer featuring ornate ironwork and decorative detailing throughout.
The theatre opened in 1928, built on a site that had housed Rowe's American Circus from 1842 to 1854. Long before the current building went up, this corner of Melbourne was already drawing crowds for public entertainment.
The Comedy Theatre is a home for live performance in Melbourne, where locals come to see comedies, musicals, and plays throughout the year. The ornate interior gives each visit a sense of occasion that a more modern venue rarely offers.
The theatre sits in central Melbourne and is easy to reach on foot from most of the city's main hotels and tram stops. Arriving a little early gives you time to look around the foyer, where the decorative details are worth a few minutes of attention.
Despite its name, the theatre was never dedicated solely to comedy and has hosted all kinds of productions since it opened. The name likely reflected the lighter tone of popular entertainment at the time it was built, rather than a strict programming policy.
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