At first glance, the newly renovated State Theatre looks the same as ever: a sea of crimson and gold, brass fittings twinkling in the gentle glow of overhead lights, the cascading John Truscott-designed ceiling still shimmering above the stage, and the iconic hand-painted curtain hanging in its original glory.
But that is the point. Every part of the grand venue, bar the walls, has been pulled apart and put back together, according to NH Architecture director Hamish Lyon, whose firm refurbished the theatre alongside Norwegian practice Snøhetta.
"When it's revealed, everyone has that moment of, 'It feels the same', and we go, 'Thank you, that's great'. It's the weirdest compliment for a designer," Lyon said.
The renovation began in March 2024 and marked the theatre's first significant upgrade since it opened in 1984. About 2½ years later it is ready to reopen. Beyond a $15 million donation from the Ian Potter Foundation, the total budget has not been disclosed.
The project was one of the first stages of the Victorian government's Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation. Lyon said the community response to the prospect of change was essentially: "Don't stuff it up." Updating and preservation thus became top priority.
"It takes a lot of work to make it look like it was," he said.
The tweaks are subtle but functional. Carpet along the aisles has been removed and replaced with rich timber flooring, which improves acoustics by increasing reverberation time. Lyon said performers from The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia, the venue's resident companies, have enthusiastically welcomed the change. A new custom-moulded, hand-gilded ceiling was installed above the stalls and circle for similar reasons.