Adelaide Festival Centre - Performance and Other Venues

Performance and Other Venues

Physically, the Adelaide Festival Centre has two locations: the riverside centre located on King William Road, and Her Majesty’s Theatre located on Grote Street. These two locations house six different venues: the Festival Theatre, Dunstan Playhouse, Space Theatre, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Artspace Gallery and the Amphitheatre. The Festival Centre also houses two function spaces: the Banquet Room and Lyric Room.

• The Festival Theatre is the largest proscenium arch theatre in Adelaide, seating close to 2000 people. It was designed as both a lyric theatre and concert hall, and is used not only for theatrical productions and large concerts, but also for graduation ceremonies, seminars and many other community functions. Its huge backstage area makes the stage area one of the largest in the southern hemisphere and a favourite of companies with large sets. It also houses the Silver Jubilee Organ, a ‘hovering’ pipe organ built and donated to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

• The Dunstan Playhouse, located in the Drama Centre behind the main building, is a more intimate venue, seating 620 people on two levels. South Australia’s State Theatre Company has been based here since 1974, and uses the theatre, the rehearsal rooms and the extensive production workshop also housed in this second building.

• Her Majesty's Theatre was built in 1913 and originally called the Tivoli. The Theatre seats 1009 people, and is located at 58 Grote Street, Adelaide.

• The Space Theatre is an extremely versatile studio theatre with no traditional stage or fixed seating, meaning its configuration is completely flexible. It can be turned into a theatre in the round, a corner stage setting, or a cabaret venue. The theatre seats anywhere from 200 to 350 people, depending on the configuration.

• The Artspace Gallery is the Centres gallery exhibition space. Situated in the second building above the Drama Centre, the Gallery hosts a variety of performances, particularly during the Cabaret Festival.

• The Amphitheatre is an outdoor venue with raked seating for 600 people overlooking Elder Park and the River Torrens. It is often used for community events and free entertainment during the summer.