Princess Theatre, Melbourne

Princess Theatre

Spring Street facade
Address	163 Spring Street Melbourne Australia
Owner	Marriner Group
Designation	Victorian Heritage Register
Capacity	1488 seats
Construction
Opened	1854
Rebuilt	1886
Architect	William Pitt
Website
www.marrinergroup.com.au

The Princess Theatre is a 1488-seat theatre in Melbourne's East End Theatre District, Australia, and is the oldest continuous entertainment site on mainland Australia. It is listed by the National Trust of Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Entertainment on the site of today's Princess Theatre dates back to the Gold Rush years of 1854, when entrepreneur Tom Moore constructed a large, barn-like structure called Astley's Amphitheatre. The venue featured a central ring for equestrian entertainment and a stage at one end for dramatic performances. It was named in honour of the Astley Royal Amphitheatre, also known as Astley's Amphitheatre, near Westminster Bridge, London.

It was soon leased by the prolific actor-manager George Coppin, who had already established himself as an actor at the Queen's Theatre, and would go on to build the Olympic (known as the 'Iron Pot') on the corner of Exhibition and Lonsdale Streets - the future site of the Comedy Theatre, build the Haymarket Theatre and Apollo Music Hall, and lease (and eventually rebuild) the Theatre Royal in Bourke Street.

In 1857, the amphitheatre was extensively renovated and the facade extended, re-opening as the Princess Theatre and Opera House.

By 1885, the theatre came under the control of 'The Triumvirate', a partnership between J. C. Williamson, George Musgrove and Arthur Garner. The existing theatre had become rundown, and so the Triumvirate resolved to demolish the existing building.