State Theatre Centre of Western Australia

State Theatre Centre of Western Australia — Northbridge

The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia sits on William Street in the Northbridge cultural precinct, ten minutes’ walk from the Perth CBD and adjacent to the Art Gallery of Western Australia. The Centre opened in 2011 to a Kerry Hill Architects design as the purpose-built home of Black Swan State Theatre Company. The complex contains two performance spaces — the Heath Ledger Theatre as the principal mainstage, and Studio Underground as the chamber black-box space.

The rooms

• Heath Ledger Theatre — 575 seats, configurable thrust-stage layout. The principal Black Swan mainstage with excellent sightlines throughout. The room is named for the late Perth-born actor; the company programmes the annual Heath Ledger Lecture each year as part of its public-realm programme.
• Studio Underground — 200 seats, fully configurable black-box space. Used for the smaller-scale and contemporary productions, the Perth Festival’s smaller-format theatre programming, and the company’s emerging-artist work.

Getting there

Walk from Perth Underground Station (10 min) or take the Free CAT bus (Yellow CAT line stops on William Street). Pair the production with the Northbridge dining precinct — the William Street and Lake Street restaurants are within five minutes’ walk. The Perth Cultural Centre adjacent to the State Theatre Centre houses the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Perth Cultural Centre Library, both within two minutes’ walk for a daytime pairing.