The Enmore Theatre sits on Enmore Road in Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west, and holds the distinction of being the city’s longest continuously running live theatre. The building dates to 1908 and opened to the public in 1912 as a photo-play theatre screening silent films, long before it became one of Australia’s best-known music venues.
Over the decades the theatre passed through several transformations, from a Spanish Mission-style cinema in the 1920s to an Art Deco showpiece redesigned by architect Charles Bohringer in the 1930s, and later a Greek-language cinema known as the Finos Theatre. It reopened as a live performance venue in 1985 and has since hosted acts including Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Kiss, and The Ramones.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Newtown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Type: Live music theatre
- Opened: 1912 (as a cinema); reopened as a live venue in 1985
- Capacity: 1,700 seated / 2,500 standing
- Famous for: Sydney’s longest-running live theatre and a rare intact Art Deco showplace
From Silent Films to Live Concerts
The Enmore Theatre began life in 1912 as a photo-play house showing silent films under the Szarka Brothers, later passing to the Hoyts cinema chain in 1926. In 1969 it became the Finos Theatre, screening Greek-language films for the local community until 1985, when the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust reopened it as a live performance venue.
The building’s Art Deco character came from a 1937 redesign led by theatre architect Charles Bohringer, following an earlier 1920 Spanish Mission-style renovation. Today it is recognised as one of the few Sydney theatres from the Art Deco era to survive in close to its original condition, and it has been a listed local heritage item since 2011.
A Modern Venue in a Heritage Shell
Since 1991 the Enmore Theatre has operated under Century Venues, which carried out a major renovation of the building. More recently, during pandemic-era closures, the venue underwent a further restoration that reinstated the original 1936 side wing balconies and added roughly 2.5 kilometres of programmable LED lighting around the restored Art Deco ceiling.
The theatre includes three licensed bars and continues to host concerts, comedy shows, and theatrical productions. It has won recognition including Best Live Music Venue in NSW at the National Live Music Awards and the 2022 Marrickville Medal for Conservation.
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Enmore Theatre FAQs
How many people does the Enmore Theatre hold?
The Enmore Theatre has a capacity of about 1,700 when fully seated, or up to 2,500 when the seating is removed for standing shows.
When did the Enmore Theatre open?
The building was constructed in 1908 and opened to the public in 1912 as a silent-film photo-play theatre. It was reestablished as a live performance venue in 1985.
Why is the Enmore Theatre architecturally significant?
It is one of the few Sydney theatres from the Art Deco era, following a 1937 redesign by architect Charles Bohringer, to survive largely in its original condition, and it has been heritage-listed since 2011.
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Photo: J Bar / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.