Built on the land of the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation, Her Majesty's Theatre Ballarat has lived many lives over the course of her almost 150-year history. Set to reopen at the end of 2024, she started off in 1875 as The Academy of Music, has served as a cinema, a home to Royal South Street Eisteddfod and has remained as Victoria's longest operating theatre. 

Manager of Cultural Venues for City of Ballarat, Kristy Witmitz, gave us a guided tour of this incredible building, and a sneak peek of what arts fans can expect when Her Maj reopens later this year. 

Central to the much-needed renovation was improving accessibility. From the stage door to the front door, these upgrades, including a new backstage lift ensure the Theatre is accessible for everyone to enjoy. The bones of the building also needed an upgrade, with the installation of structural steel support beams in the roof and improvements made to external brick work. 

Key to Ballarat’s cultural identity, Her Maj provides the full spectrum of live performance; from children’s development programs, community theatre groups, full scale dramatic productions and contemporary live music. Kristy’s hope is to assist in the development of Ballarat’s next generation of practising artists, uniting the community through the power of performance. 

Ballarat’s artist community has blossomed in recent years, with folks moving away from metro areas after COVID to combat cost of living struggles, now Ballarat boasts a similar artistic population per-capita to Castlemaine and Brunswick.  

Her Majesty’s Theatre is just one of several local venues contributing to Ballarat's thriving arts scene, hosting live music year-round and as part of the ALWAYS LIVE program. St. Vincent plays Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat on Tuesday 26 November.   

Tickets to see St. Vincent here.

Check out part one of our chat with Kristy Witmitz below