Laser shows and a lyrebird hunt: the Ian Potter State Theatre throws open its doors.
Melbourne’s most iconic stage is about to have its moment again. Arts Centre Melbourne has announced Housewarming, a free four-day celebration marking the reopening of the Ian Potter State Theatre.
Running from 9 to 12 October, Housewarming will offer 18,000 free tickets to a high-energy show blending dance, circus, music and theatre, all pulled together by acclaimed local theatre-maker Michael Kantor.
More than 100 Victorian artists are involved, with musical comedy performer Jude Perl leading audiences on a search for a mysterious lyrebird missing from the theatre’s famous red curtain.
She’s joined on stage by Australian Ballet principal Brett Chynoweth, singer-songwriters Emma Donovan and Eliza Hull, dancer roya the destroya, Circus Oz, Opera Australia, the Australian Ballet, Melbourne Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, the Australian Ballet School, Stephanie Lake Company, sound artist Robin Fox, children’s choir The Yarra Voices, Cypher Culture x Jungle City, and musical theatre students from the Victorian College of the Arts.
Housewarming – Ian Potter State Theatre
- Ian Potter State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne
- 9 – 12 October
- Free tickets online now
- Family show with The Listies on 11 October
- School sessions on 12 October
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There’s plenty for families too, with comedy duo The Listies performing on Sunday 11 October, and dedicated school sessions scheduled for Monday 12 October. Housewarming has been made free for Victorians thanks to donors to Arts Centre Melbourne.
Beyond the main stage, there’s a whole weekend of extra programming to soak up.
Entry to ENCORE!, a new exhibition celebrating 50 years of the Australian Performing Arts Collection, will be free across the Housewarming weekend, alongside guided tours, DJ sets and roaming performances from Born in a Taxi.
Food trucks will set up in the Forecourt dishing out wood-fired pizza, Korean and Japanese street food and Greek doughnuts, plus a Connoisseur ice cream pop-up and treats from the venue’s own Protagonist Cafe and The Barre.
On 9 and 10 October, the Theatres Building spire will be transformed into a glowing artwork for Spire Alight, a laser-mapped light show tracing the building’s architecture, including its distinctive steel “ballerina” skirt.
The reopening comes six months ahead of schedule, following the theatre’s first major refurbishment since it opened in 1984. Closed since March 2024, the venue is the first completed milestone of the Victorian government’s Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project.
New lifts and aisles now allow audience members with mobility challenges to choose seating across all levels for the first time, alongside upgraded heating, cooling, lighting and sound systems, with the theatre’s original heritage design by John Truscott carefully preserved.
The very first performance in the refurbished venue will be Gugu Dindi Gunyah (Many Rivers. One Home), a First Nations-led concert on 3 October.
Housewarming will be followed by Opera Australia’s Wagner Gala Concert on 16 October, The Australian Ballet’s season of The Nutcracker from 24-31 October, and Opera Australia’s 70th anniversary production of My Fair Lady from 14 November.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne.
