Historic Australian theatre to be restored
Newcastle’s historic Victoria Theatre is set to be restored and revived as an entertainment hub.
The heritage-listed building was sold pre-auction to Sydney-based Century Venues, which currently operates the Enmore Theatre, The Metro, The Factory and The Comedy Store in Sydney.
The iconic theatre was set to go under the hammer on Thursday, but hotelier and building owner Arthur Laundy accepted the early offer and exchanged contracts late on Wednesday.
Century Venues executive director Greg Khoury was unavailable for comment after the sale, but signalled his intent to restore the iconic theatre to its former glory in an interview with the Newcastle Herald last week, stating, “It is a building of profound importance. It is a similar scale and size to the Princess Theatre in Melbourne and would complement the Civic Theatre.’’
The Victoria Theatre was built in 1890 in Perkins Street, and in its heyday rivalled the best theatres in Sydney, attracting huge crowds with enough seating to hold 1340 people.