Comedy Theatre — Attraction in Melbourne

We attended The Lord of the Rings at the Comedy Theatre last Saturday and, unfortunately, found the production underwhelming. While the theatre itself is clean (including bathrooms) and the staff were helpful, the performance suffered from poor planning and inconsistent execution.

There was no bell or announcement signalling the start after the intermission, so many guests were still finding seats when the show abruptly began. Some performers tried to engage the audience beforehand, which was a nice touch, but lacked coordination — several seemed unsure of what to do, and others avoided interaction entirely.

The production felt very low-budget, and while I understand limitations, there are creative ways to use lighting and staging to conceal them. The same wooden ladders were used throughout, whether in the Shire, the forest, or the mountains, and transitions between scenes were poorly handled. The musical integration, though showcasing talented musicians, often felt distracting — actors would play instruments mid-battle or reappear seconds later in different scenes without costume or lighting changes.

Costume choices were also inconsistent. Lady Galadriel wore a traditional Russian kokoshnik, while Gandalf and Saruman were styled after the film versions, resulting in a clashing visual identity that felt out of place. Some performances were excellent — Laurence Boxhall, Hannah Buckley, Jemma Rix, and a few others truly held the production together. However, one actor (Wern Mak) remained disengaged on stage when not speaking, often appearing bored. As someone with experience in theatre, this level of disconnection was surprising and detracted from the overall performance. A talented cast can only do so much without strong direction and production support. I hope future runs will give this story the care and coherence...

The show was amazing, it's the third time I've been to this Theatre, years apart though. The theater itself has an amazing old world feel to it very Spanish I felt, lots of stunning Velvet Curtains, Marble steps at entry and foyer, red carpet. The seats were very narrow but heaps of leg room they were the same seats in the 1980s as now in 2022. If you can climb three flights of stairs go for it, the seating is so much better, the first 2 times had been the lower seating, I found it hard to see the stage as you were looking at the back of someone's head.

Sad there is no lift if you have a disability. I use a mobile aid, a use walking frame. There is good Solid railing either side of the staircase that I relied heavily on. Take your time because the seating is worth it. The Staff helped me as much as they could, while I climbed the stair case they took my frame to the top, telling me I had plenty of time to the start of the show and not to panic. They then allowed me to take what I needed and helped me settle into my seat then took it away for safe keeping. At all times I was treated with respect. Its important to know your items are safe and that you feel safe handing your aid over to someone for safekeeping, it helps you relax into your activities. 4 ladies toilets also with one disabled.

There is a well stocked confectionery stand, I couldn't get back down to make use of it, but saw people returning with Choc-top waffle ice-cream, chocolate, chips and...

Thank goodness the service is great.

Unfortunately the entry to the venue is too small for the numbers of patrons it can seat so it was very tightly packed with people waiting outside on the road even as the earliest patrons were being scanned in. I wondered why there was a seventy dollar price difference between different the top and bottom ticket tiers for such a seemingly small venue, but after seeing the differences even a few metres makes I can understand why the higher costs were justified. The raked seating in the dress circle is so steep it gives you vertigo looking down and while being on the lower level so close to the stage sounds great, the stage is so high that the front row had to crane their necks to see what was happening even near the front.

However.. The venue is aesthetically pleasing, the seats comfortable, and while the seats off to the side were not as excellent as the higher priced seats, they were still okay. The sound quality of the show we saw was.. generally good, if a little quiet and tinny at points. Of course the quality of the show you see is the most important part and the quality was indeed excellent all around, but the review is for the venue, not the show, and includes the location too, not just the quality of service. The saving grace of this venue was indeed the staff. A mostly great venue in a not...