Queensland Performing Arts Centre

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Part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, also known as QPAC, is situated amidst the picturesque surroundings of South Bank, on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street, in Queensland, Australia, near the Brisbane Central Business District (CBD). The Queensland Performing Arts Centre was designed by local architect Robin Gibson in the mid 1970’s, after State Cabinet formally recognised the need for a new Queensland Art Gallery and also the want of a new major Performing Arts Complex, and a new location for the Queensland Museum and State Library, in 1972. It was opened by the Duke of Kent in 1985.

Though the building has only been in existence for some three decades, its historical roots run deep in that the entirety of the Queensland Cultural Centre resides on the site of perhaps one of Queensland’s most illustrious theatres, the ‘Cremorne’. Established in 1911, this legendary theatre was owned and operated by John Neil McCallum, the father of distinguished Australian actor, John McCallum, who recalls the building originally as “an open-air theatre named the ‘Cremorne Gardens’, where the most famous vaudeville stars of the day played” (QPAC Corporate, 2003). Until 1954 when the structure was ravaged by fire, the Cremorne’s salad days spanning from the early 1920's were fashioned by the likes of Australian stage legends such as Roy Rene, Will Mahoney and Evie Hayes, George Wallace and the Cremorne Ballet girls (QPAC Corporate, 2003). Today, the centre’s traditionally acquired approbation remains appositely infused into the physical space, perpetuated most patently through the christening of one of the existing four main chambers, the Cremorne Theatre.

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is a very large complex consisting of four theatre, or auditorium, venues for live performances. These theatre venues are:

The Lyric Theatre is a horseshoe-shaped theatre which seats up to 2085. It is Brisbane's main venue for operas, ballets, musicals and the like. It has received critical acclaim for its design, and hosts many international performances. The premiere production at the Lyric Theatre was "La belle Hélène". ^[1]

The Concert Hall is primarily designed for orchestral performances, although it also hosts a variety of other events and performances from jazz to stand-up comedy, graduation ceremonies and award presentations. The 6500 pipe Klais Grand Organ is the central architectural focus of the hall. The Concert Hall seats up to 1800 and is the home venue for The Queensland Orchestra. ^[2]

The Cremorne Theatre is a reconfigurable flexible performance space with six configurations (proscenium, theatre-in-the-round, concert, cabaret, cinema or flat floor) up to 302 seats in theatre mode. It is especially suited to creative productions, experimental theatre, one-man plays, revues, lectures and product launches.^[3]

The Playhouse is a state-of-the art venue offering cutting edge technology and stage design in a traditional proscenium theatre. It features a flexible proscenium arch, large main and rear stages, side stage, apron, orchestra pit, a Biltflor sprung dance floor, direct dock-to-stage loading and seating for 850 patrons. Geoffrey Rush starred as Figaro in the play "The Marriage of Figaro" (the play on which Mozart's opera was based) for the Playhouse's opening production in September, 1998. ^[4]

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is an established place of significance in the physical, social, cultural and historical context of Brisbane City, through its importance as a gateway to the city, and as a key player in the entertainment sector and nightlife of Brisbane.