Australia’s oldest performing arts centre, the Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC), celebrated its 60th birthday on Tuesday (24 June), with the ACT’s Chief Minister Andrew Barr in attendance.
When Canberra Theatre Centre first opened its doors in 1965 – almost a decade before Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 – it comprised the Canberra Theatre (current seating capacity 1239) and the smaller Playhouse (614). A covered walkway linked the two venues and a small art gallery, meeting room and a rapidly-popular restaurant rounded out the complex. The Studio Theatre (which seats 90 people), as well as administrative offices and a large workshop were added in 1982.
