After undergoing a major refurbishment, The Ian Potter State Theatre is reopening in Melbourne this October. To celebrate, Arts Centre Melbourne is giving away 18,000 tickets to see a series of free performances. In Housewarming, you can expect dance, circus, music and theatre from leading performance arts companies. Housewarming will run from Friday, October 9 to Monday, October 12. While it is free, you will need to make a booking. Tickets are available now.
Housewarming at Arts Centre Melbourne
In this specially commissioned series, award-winning musical comedy star Jude Perl will take you on a journey in search of the Lyrebird missing from the theatre’s red curtain.
All seven shows will feature Perl, Principal Artist Brett Chynoweth from The Australian Ballet, singer-songwriter Emma Donovan, Circus Oz, Robin Fox, Cypher Culture x Jungle City, Melbourne children’s choir The Yarra Voices and musical theatre students from the Victorian College of the Arts.
Performances on Friday and Saturday include The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia, Stephanie Lake Company and Melbourne Theatre Company.
The Sunday show includes The Australian Ballet School, Eliza Hull, roya the destroya, Bell Shakespeare and family-friendly performers The Listies.
Meanwhile, Monday is dedicated to putting on shows for schools.
What else can you do?
Entry to see the ENCORE! exhibition at the Australian Music of Performing Arts will be free across the Housewarming weekend.
You can also enjoy free guided tours, DJ sets and roaming performances from Born in a Taxi.
On the Forecourt, there will be a line-up of food trucks, serving up Italian woodfired pizza, Korean and Japanese street food and tasty Greek doughnuts. You’ll also find a Conoisseur ice cream pop-up, and treats from Protagonist Cafe and The Barre.
On October 9 and 10, the Theatres Building Spire will light up at night with a dazzling laser light show. In Spire Alight, this tower will transform into a spectacular piece of animated artwork.
To book your tickets and learn more, click here.
Ian Potter State Theatre reopening program
- Gugu Dindi Gunya – October 3
- Housewarming – October 9 to 12
- The Wagner Gala Concert – October 16
- The Nutcracker – October 24 to 31
- My Fair Lady – November 14 to January 17
- Soundtrack to Our Lives – April 18
- The Next Big Thing – April 22 to 24
