The Capitol — Local services in Melbourne

The Capitol Theatre in Swanston Street, Melbourne is a stunning blend of architectural wonder, cultural history, and modern functionality.

The moment you step inside, you’re greeted by an awe-inspiring geometric plaster ceiling adorned with thousands of lights. The abstract prismatic forms, designed by Marion Mahony Griffin and her husband Walter Burley Griffin in 1924, evoke a luminous, crystalline cavern—an iconic fixture in Australian cinema design.

The Chicago‑Gothic Exterior from Swanston Street, the façade appears deceptively simple—a sleek, vertical office tower cloaked in restrained brickwork. Yet inside lies theatrical opulence.

🎬 We were there to see a screening of Chicago, along with a Jazz Orchestra! 🎷🎺 Synchronised with flickering ceiling lights was truly sensational!

😍 What I Loved Visual Drama: The ceiling alone is worth the visit—such an arresting piece of design is rare in modern venues.

Layered History: You’re immersed in nearly a century of cinematic culture, from silent-era splendor to contemporary innovation. Seating is intimate and comfortable!

🌟 The Capitol Theatre stands as Melbourne’s most visually stunning and historically significant cinema venue. It’s pure sensory escapism—an architectural jewel with soul, restored to glory and still innovating. Whether you’re a lover of architecture, cinema, or live performance, it delivers a magical experience anchored in the city’s shared past and future.

If you’re in Melbourne, catch a show here, you will be amazed...

Beautiful theatre with comfortable seats. We went to see a Fever production of Sleeping Beauty- What we call ballet. The negatives were: you can’t just walk in to the theatre when the doors open to get your ticket checked and buy refreshments. You have to form a queue along Flinders Street in front of the shops and restaurants thus impacting people entering them and as there is only one person checking tickets it’s a slow queue . Once inside you are directed to your Zone which is fine but you don’t have an allocated seat. You have one person per zone trying to seat everyone as you arrive so the earlier you arrive, the better your likelihood of getting a better seat. Positive : We were in Zone B which was the Dress Circle. The view of the stage was perfect. The seats are very comfortable and in good condition and the theatre itself is very clean. The ceiling in the theatre is something to behold. It’s phenomenal . The way it actually wraps around you gives a cosy cave like feel to it and the lighting sets the mood. I have long wanted to see inside this theatre and it...

Avoid Row J… the rest is A-OK!

We went to see Diesel do his thing last night…awesome. Fantastic venue, great feel, great space.

Extremely disappointed that on entering the theatre our seats had obstructed viewing and there was absolutely no reference to this at any stage prior to arriving at seat. There was an old A4 sign stuck on the “obstruction” saying the “seats are obstructed in view. Consider somewhere else”…. this was the first time there was any reference to our seats having poor visibility of this stage and performance area.

There were ample seats available at the time of booking if I knew that these seats had obstructed viewing of any type I would’ve booked alternate seats.

Very disappointed with Ticketmaster and very disappointed with the capital theatre for not informing patrons of this at any stage prior to reaching the seats themselves.

Everything...