Seymour Centre, Performing arts center at University of Sydney campus, Australia
The Seymour Centre is a performing arts venue on the University of Sydney campus with multiple theater spaces of varying sizes. Each space serves different types of performances and accommodates audiences ranging from small to large.
Sydney businessman Everest York Seymour died in 1966, leaving a bequest for a building devoted to the cultivation, education and performance of music and drama. The University of Sydney became trustee, commissioned Allen Jack+Cottier, and the centre opened in 1975. Lahz Nimmo Architects designed internal refurbishments completed in 2000.
The Seymour Centre hosts events for the Sydney Festival, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney Children's Festival, Sydney Fringe and Sydney Comedy Festival. Its Seymour Sessions, founded in 2012 and long curated by publisher Larry Heath, run free live music on Fridays from early February to mid-March, with a special session for Mardi Gras.
The centre sits on the corner of City Road and Cleveland Street in Chippendale, a short walk south-west of the city centre. Refreshments are sold on each level, with a coffee cart in the main foyer. A barbecue runs in the front courtyard opposite the main entrance from about ninety minutes before selected shows.
The Wiggles performed at the Seymour Centre in December 1994, 1995 and 1996; one of the 1996 concerts was filmed for their first concert video, Wiggledance! The University of Sydney Revues are also staged here each year, alongside end-of-year dance school concerts.
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