Perth has a lively, if low-key art scene, at its most vibrant during
Perth International Arts Festival time, when the avant-garde is celebrated. The scene is healthy, with an excellent symphony orchestra, ballet company, opera company and several professional theater troupes.
There is no shortage of talent in town - the
West Australian Academy of the Performing Arts (WAAPA), renowned for turning out stars of stage and screen, attracts students from all over the country. While the arts in Perth lack a visible focal point, such as Sydney's Opera House or Brisbane's Performing
Arts Center, the
Perth Cultural Center in Northbridge (comprising the Art Gallery, Western Australian Museum and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts) goes some way to filling the void, as does the 100-year-old architectural gem that is
His Majesty's Theater.
Tickets to most shows are available from
Ticketmaster (tel: 136 100;
www.ticketmaster7.com). Cultural listings can be found online (
www.xpressmag.com.au) and in the West Australian newspaper.
Music: The
West Australian Opera (tel: (08) 9278 8999;
www.waopera.asn.au) performs for several months of the year at
His Majesty's Theater, 825 Hay Street (tel: (08) 9265 0900;
www.hismajestystheater.com.au).
Perth Concert Hall, 5 St George's Terrace (tel: (08) 9231 9900;
www.perthconcerthall.com.au), is the prime venue for classical music and also the home of the
West Australian Symphony Orchestra (tel: (08) 9326 0000;
www.waso.com.au). The hall's acoustics have been acclaimed as some of the best in Australia.
Theater: His Majesty's Theater (see
Music above) is the elegant venue for opera, ballet, musicals and other theatrical presentations.
Burswood Theater, Burswood Casino, Great Eastern Highway (tel: (08) 9362 7777), presents musicals and concerts. The art deco
Regal Theater, 474 Hay Street, Subiaco (tel: (08) 132 849), formerly a cinema, hosts bedroom-farce-style theater. The
Perth Theater Company (tel: (08) 9323 3433;
www.perththeater.com.au) treads the planks at the
Playhouse Theater, 3 Pier Street. The more cutting-edge
Black Swan Theater Company (tel: (08) 6389 0311;
www.bstc.com.au) is based at the
Masonic Hall, 6 Broadway, Nedlands. The refurbished
Subiaco Arts Center, 180 Hamersley Road, Subiaco (tel: (08) 9380 3000;
www.subiacotheatercenter.com.au) puts on plays, concerts and other performing arts events.
Yirra Yaakin Theater, 65 Murray Street (tel: (08) 9202 1966;
www.yirrayaakin.asn.au), is a leading Australian Aboriginal theater company whose performances combine traditional dance with contemporary drama.
Dance: The
West Australian Ballet (tel: (08) 9481 0707;
www.waballet.com.au), resident at
His Majesty's Theater (see
Music above), performs a repertoire of modern dance as well as classical ballet.
Buzz Dance Theater (tel: (08) 9226 2322) is an important local modern dance company. Major Australian and international dance companies frequently tour to Perth and perform at
His Majesty's Theater and the
Burswood Theater (see
Theater above).
Film: Mainstream movies are screened at
Hoyts (tel: (08) 9316 0600;
www.hoyts.com.au) and
Greater Union (tel: (08) 9316 0600;
www.greaterunion.com.au) multiplexes throughout the city. A good budget cinema in the middle of town is the
Piccadilly, Hay Street Mall (tel: (08) 9322 3577;
www.regentcinemas.com/piccadilly). Art house cinema is enjoyed at
Cinema Paradiso, 164 James Street, Northbridge (tel: (08) 9227 1771;
www.lunapalace.com.au) and the
Luna, 155 Oxford Street, Leederville (tel: (08) 9444 4056;
www.lunapalace.com.au). Outdoor movies are popular during the summer months, at the
Moonlight Cinema in Kings Park (
www.moonlight.com.au), the
Somerville Auditorium at the University of Western Australia and the
Luna cinema in Leederville.
As well as providing the setting for some Australian films, Perth has also produced some of Australia's most successful film directors and stars, many of which are now considered to be Hollywood A-listers and films, including Peter Weir and his film
Gallipoli (1981) and Scott Hicks and his movie
Shine (1996). Modern Perth also appears in Bill Bennett's
Kiss or Kill (1998). Hollywood stars Heath Ledger, who died in 2008, and Frances O'Connor are from Perth.
Literary Notes: Perth has produced some of Australia's greatest authors and Perth and Western Australia feature in a number of important Australian books. A B Facey, author of the panoramic autobiography and quintessential 'Aussie battler' story,
A Fortunate Life (1981), lived for a large part of that life in Perth, working on the (now defunct) tram system. Tim Winton's modern classic,
Cloudstreet (1991), chronicles 20 post-war years in the life of a Leederville family, while Robert Drewe's memoir,
The Shark Net (2000), evokes Perth in the 1950s, during serial killer Eric Cooke's reign of terror. Archie Weller's
The Day of the Dog (1980), about urban Aboriginal life in Perth, is a key work of black Australian literature; Sally Morgan's lyrical
My Place (1987) is another. The city was also home to Australia's greatest Aboriginal playwright, Jack Davis, who tackled injustice in
The Dreamers (1982) and
No Sugar (1986). Other writers who have called Perth home include Australian literary great Elizabeth Jolley, who penned
Miss Peabody's Inheritance (1983) and
An Accommodating Spouse (1999), as well as acclaimed, reclusive science fiction author Greg Egan, famous for
Permutation City (1994).
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