Arts Centre Melbourne’s Ian Potter State Theatre will reopen on Saturday 3 October, six months ahead of schedule, following its first major refurbishment since the 2000-seat venue opened in 1984.

The $1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project milestone has seen the theatre closed since March 2024, with upgrades focused on accessibility, audience comfort and technical infrastructure while retaining its distinctive heritage design.

Ian Potter State Theatre. Photo © Tom Blachford

Designed by Melbourne’s NH Architecture and Norway’s Snøhetta, the refurbishment has added wheelchair seating on all levels, new stalls positions supported by two lifts, new aisles, accessible amenities and upgraded heating and cooling. New custom-designed seats draw on John Truscott’s original interiors.

The theatre’s technical infrastructure has also been substantially upgraded, including a new sound system comprising 200 speakers and 60 amplifiers, alongside new performance lighting and production networks. The distinctive cascading ceiling, made from around 75,000 brass spheres, was removed and painstakingly cleaned before being reinstated.

Arts Centre Melbourne chief executive Karen Quinlan said the upgrades would enable the theatre to accommodate “thousands of performances and millions of visitors” over the next 40 years.

The reopening program begins with Gugu Dindi Gunyah (Many Rivers. One Home) on 3 October, a First Nations-led concert created by Mutti Mutti, Nari Nari, Yorta Yorta Songman Kutcha Edwards and Song Keepers from across Victoria. It will be followed by the free Housewarming program, featuring more than 100 Victorian artists across music, dance, theatre and circus from 9–12 October.

Reg Livermore as Alfred P. Doolitle and cast members of My Fair Lady. Photo © Jeff Busby

Opera Australia will return with The Wagner Gala Concert on 16 October, while The Australian Ballet will present The Nutcracker from 24–31 October. Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady, marking 70 years since its Broadway debut, will be the first major musical in the refurbished theatre, running from 14 November to 17 January 2027.

Further works will continue elsewhere in the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres Building, including an expanded scenery loading dock, new rehearsal and studio space, an accessible Stage Door and improved dining facilities.