The National Theatre is a 783-seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

bayside suburb of St Kilda, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets. The building was constructed in 1921 as The Victory Theatre (3000 seat cinema), rebuilt as 2550 seat cinema in 1928, finally converted to a live venue 1972/4 with 783 seats. The stalls seating was converted to studios and rehearsal rooms for the schools

National Theatre Movement

The National Theatre Movement (NTM), the current owners, was established in 1935 by soprano Gertrude Johnson. After returning from an overseas career that included performing at Covent Garden, Miss Johnson was dismayed at the lack of training and performing opportunities for Australian artists in their own country. To that end the National Theatre was founded along with a network of companies throughout Australia. The Ballarat National Theatre was founded in 1938 along with other branches in Heidelberg, Yallourn and Swan Hill. Included in the network too was an opera school (1935), drama school (1936) and ballet school (1939). Production Companies (three Arts Festivals) ran through the 1940s and 1950s. The National Theatre Movement previously occupied the Village Theatre in Toorak (destroyed by fire in April 1962) and then purchased (but not occupied) the Empress Theatre in

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a po ...

, which was destroyed by fire in June 1971.

Theatre building

The building now occupied by the National Theatre was built in the Beaux Arts style as a 3000-seat

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

and opened in 1920 as the Victory Theatre. In 1971

Hoyts The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas and Val Morgan. Hoyts operates more than 450 cinema screens and 55,000 seats, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Hospita ...

(a company that operates movie theaters) offered the company the Victory Theatre for conversion to a live theatre and rehearsal spaces. The current theatre consists of the original Victory dress circle extended with the addition of a sizeable stage and a fly tower. The original stalls were converted into five studios for

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

. One of the studios is itself a theatrette. The theatre opened in its current guise in August 1974, while the schools and administration moved there in September 1972.

Drama school

The National Theatre drama school dates from 1936 and is the oldest in Australia. Drama school alumni include

Bella Heathcote Isabella Heathcote (born 27 May 1987) is an Australian actress and model. She began her acting career in 2008. The following year, she had a recurring role as Amanda Fowler on the television soap opera ''Neighbours''. Heathcote has since portr ...

, Kat Stewart, Richard Cawthorne,

Brett Tucker Brett Alan Tucker (born 21 May 1972) is an Australian actor and singer. He was a series regular in '' The Saddle Club'', ''McLeod's Daughters'', and '' Mistresses''. He is also known for his role as Daniel Fitzgerald in ''Neighbours''. He pla ...

, Ngaire Dawn Fair,

Lawrence Mooney Lawrence Mooney (born 22 April 1965) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, and former television and radio presenter. Radio career Mooney has held various jobs including a cleaner, salesman, furniture polisher and collecting golf balls at a ...

, Geraldine Quinn, and Esther Hannaford. The current director of drama for the National Theatre Drama School is Dr Jo Loth. Past Drama directors have included Trent Baker, Ken Boucher, Dr Kim Durban, Babs MacMillan and the Late Joan Harris (AM).

Ballet school

The National Theatre Ballet school dates from 1939 and is the oldest in Australia. Ballet School alumni includes Amber Scott, Jarryd Madden. The ballet school currently conducts Royal Academy of Dance examinations and has ballet performances in the middle of the year and in December. The current artistic director of the National Theatre Ballet School is Damian Smith. Other dance artistic directors have included Kathleen Gorham,

Gailene Stock Gailene Stock CBE AM (28 January 194629 April 2014) was an Australian-born ballerina, teacher and Director of the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden. Early years Gailene Patricia Stock was born in Ballarat, Victoria. She was the second o ...

, Marilyn Jones and Beverly Jane Fry.

Opera school

The opera school merged with the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

in 1980. It was closed by the VCA in 2006 but the National Theatre now supports the new Opera School (Melbourne) established independently in 2008.

References

External links

* {{authority control Music schools in Australia Dance education in Australia Classical music in Australia Theatres in Melbourne Performing arts in Melbourne St Kilda, Victoria Buildings and structures in the City of Port Phillip