Cameron Grant Presents AUSTRALIAN THEATRES UNVEILED

Before the lights come up and before the first image is consciously examined, AUSTRALIAN THEATRES UNVEILED invites audiences to feel something familiar. Not nostalgia exactly, but recognition. A sense of belonging that settles in quietly, like the memory of a place you once stood, waited, or dreamed.

This exhibition brings together nearly seventy photographs of theatres from across the country, captured not as monuments, but as lived-in spaces shaped by ritual, labour, and collective memory. From grand facades to loading docks, fly towers to stage doors, these images move beyond architectural admiration and into the emotional infrastructure of Australian theatre. They honour not only what audiences see, but what performers, crew, and creatives know intimately, the hidden corners where stories begin long before the curtain rises.

Photographed through the lens of Cameron Grant, Director of Parenthesy, who has lived inside these buildings as an artist, AUSTRALIAN THEATRES UNVEILED carries a deep respect for imperfection, age, and atmosphere. Chipped paint, chalk markings, worn floorboards, and empty auditoriums become evidence of life, not decay. In a post-COVID world, where the loss of shared spaces was deeply felt, the collection becomes both an archive and a reassurance. Theatre endures, and so does our connection to it.

Presented as a fully immersive experience at Fortyfive Downstairs, a venue that is itself both gallery and theatre, this exhibition asks viewers not just to look, but to remember. To find their own stories in these spaces. And to carry a piece of theatre with them, long after they leave the room.

1. When people walk into this exhibition, what do you hope they feel before they even consciously start “looking” at the images?

I want guests who walk into the exhibition to feel a sense of belonging. The AUSTRALIAN THEATRES UNVEILED collection features almost 70 unique pieces from across the country, and anyone who has had an experience with Australian theatre will probably have seen most of these buildings throughout their creative pursuits. The exhibition is a fully immersive experience and contributes to the story of this country’s rich art history. Through the beauty and intricacy of the images you’ll feel right at home, especially at Melbourne’s landmark Fortyfive Downstairs, which hosts both an art gallery AND theatre; it’s the perfect venue to showcase this work.

2. You photograph theatres not just as buildings, but as lived in spaces. Was there a particular venue or moment in this series where a memory from your own performing life unexpectedly took over?

When I visited my home town theatre, the Princess Theatre in Launceston Tasmania, to photograph as part of the collection, I was honoured to be invited inside to capture the backstage interior. It’s a venue I grew up performing in for many years, and is one of the few remaining theatres in Australia that operate with a fully manual counterweight fly-rigging system. At the time, a show was due to bump-in within the next few hours, but I got a chance to immortalise a sight not commonly seen by many in the industry. The image stands to be one of the most provoking pieces in the collection because of it’s texture, and authenticity; and in the image, you can see all the intricacies of the bare stage, as well as handwritten chalk notes on the rigging boards. It was a delicate capture, and one that I proudly hang a print of in my living-room walls at home.

3. Many of these theatres are places audiences know well, but you often capture areas they have never seen. Why was it important for you to go beyond the facade and into backstage, wings, and forgotten corners?

There’s so many facets that make live theatre a possibility. Audiences are a big part of it. Performers are also a significant part we see. But without stagehands, crew, designers, and production team, this industry doesn’t exist. There’s a few pieces in the collection such as the Crown Theatre loading dock in Perth, and the Her Majesty’s Theatre stage door in Melbourne that I feel are quiet, common areas, but vital captures. These photos aren’t glamorous like most facades of the buildings, but these images are a way to appreciate the people working behind the scenes in a way that is uplifting and commemorative. It’s a way to acknowledge their places of operation and belonging.

4. As someone who trained as an actor, how does your understanding of performance and ritual shape the way you frame an empty stage or a quiet auditorium?

Having graduated from the Acting BFA at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2018, and spending most of my adulthood as a performer, this inside understanding shaped every facet of the way I’ve captured this series. My partner is also a commercial performer, and she has contributed her weight in wisdom into the collection as well. Having a photographer that truly understands a field is important for any industry. I feel I’m one of few truly qualified to capture a series like this in such grandeur and authenticity. That’s not to say the way I see these spaces is the only way they can be photographed, though I can emphasise that every piece in the collection has been meticulously crafted to perfection because this isn’t just a job to me, or just a passion, but the arts is a all-encompassing lifestyle. And I hope this exhibition is equally an immersive experience for you too.

5. In a post COVID world, theatres seem to carry a different emotional weight. Did your approach to photographing these spaces change after live performance returned?

The series only began because of COVID lockdowns. If you can recall the wave of ‘ghost light’ photographs that spread across the globe from theatres shutting down in 2020/21, there was a deep, universal sorrow for the future of the arts. In early 2022 I discovered that the Australian theatre landscape lacked an empowering body of rich architectural celebration, as what Broadway or West End have for their theatre spaces. The Australian Theatres Unveiled series developed from that moment to what it is today. I talk a lot about Belonging as a recurring emotion for the series, because during covid, we tragically lost that. By creating fine art for peoples walls and homes studios, and greeting cards for milestone occasions like opening nights or birthdays, I truly hope this series will prevent us from ever losing that sense of belonging again. There will always be a part of the theatre with us wherever we go.

6. Some of these venues are grand and ornate, while others are modest or worn. What do imperfections and signs of age mean to you in the context of preserving theatre history?

Inescapable aging loves to romanticise the fleeting moment, and physical imperfections teach us the fragility of humanity. In an overconsuming digital age, the rawness and humanity of live performance can’t be reproduced, nor should they be. Watching Hamilton on Disney+ is never going to be as impactful as seeing it in real life for the first time – or for the very last time on a closing night. Equally, so many of these venues with chipping paints and leftover bolts protruding the facades show the life and the breath, the ends and new beginnings of so many stories. At the end of the day, these really are just buildings. They’re concrete, wood, steel and glass – material objects, but it’s the stories told inside and out of them that make them unique. I hope these photographs ignite a memory for you from a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to hear that story when you visit.

7. You describe this project as a visual archive. How do you balance the responsibility of documentation with the freedom to make bold artistic choices?

Excellent question, and one I’ve battled with a lot over the course of shooting the works for three years. This series is entirely and purposefully self-funded, which means I received no grants, no scholarships, no funding whatsoever – which intentionally also meant there was no requirement to fulfil a criteria checkbox by a authoritative body. My performance photography seen with Parenthesy qualifies my creative eye, which I know is of mass commercial appreciation already. A few years ago I worked under the guidance of a mentor Dianna Snape for some time. Dianna is a great architectural photographer, and it was insightful to watch her carefully archive modern architectural design. The Australian Theatres Unveiled collection combines universal photographic methods with a modern interpretation. Business, funding, money, and art can all co-exist, but I felt responsible to give this work a passionate eye it deserved without the influenced of assessment criteria. I took that responsibility to the detriment of my own bank account, however it opened the opportunity for some extremely fun shots and angles that may not have otherwise seen a sheet of paper. The profits from every purchase go directly into funding the next chapter of the collection, and I hope to use my platform and support from the community to create a full Australian Theatres Unveiled archive featuring independent theatres, community theatres, cinemas and town halls across the country, and immortalise these spaces before they all get turned into carparks…

8. Were there any theatres that surprised you, either emotionally or visually, when you finally spent time inside them alone with your camera?

I had a wonderful encounter with Helen Geoffreys who is the venue manager of the Capri Theatre in Adelaide in February 2025. It’s a beautiful art-deco cinema built in the 1940’s, and the team at the Capri gladly welcomed me in for a personal tour of the popular community hub. She shared the history of their ‘Wurlitzer’ Organ, that it’s the second largest operating concert organ in the southern hemisphere. She recalled the stories of senior citizens hand-making the choc tops on site, and that every Friday 13th they host Rocky Horror screenings to a sold out 840pax cinema. We were complete strangers when I arrived; bonded by the passion Helen and I shared for the series, which had us crying in the admin office and embracing when I left. It still makes me emotional now thinking about that evening at the Capri Theatre. Helen is flying from Adelaide to witness the series launch, and I’m sure there will be many tearful eyes and hugs shared again as we reminisce!

9. You have spoken about wanting these works to live in homes, dressing rooms, and hotels for touring artists. What does it mean to you for these images to leave the gallery and become part of people’s everyday spaces?

Fundamentally I believe all art should be accessible. The pieces have been precariously priced to uphold that belief, with print sizes mirroring that of programs, posters, and lyric books in standard A4 through A1 sizes. Every facet of the collection has been thought of to make the adoption of these art pieces into people’s homes and workplaces as familiar as possible. I truly hope that these art pieces sell out because it shows the life and longevity of the arts, when for so long we have been cut short or underfunded or locked down or disregarded. The greeting cards are especially important, and I have already heard from so many florists and producers about their excitement to purchase these stock in bulk. They’re perfect gifts for opening nights, and an easy and affordable way to commemorate your loved person’s achievement.

10. Looking ahead, how do you imagine this series evolving over time, and what do you hope future audiences will learn about Australian theatre culture through these images?

My aim is to have a full Australian Theatres Unveiled collection featuring every theatre in the country – big or small, mainstage or rural. It’s a multi-decade long and extremely ambitious project, but one with the support of what feels like the whole artistic nation. I hope to expand the work to other countries and cities, and further develop an International series. Soon, I will unveil an art book, and apply the work to the National Archives, and donate more pieces to the theatres for widespread enjoyment. It’s important to involve the works into the community in as many ways as possible, and give back to the people that have given so much already. The arts and live theatre are sometimes thankless pursuits, and I hope that the Australian Theatres Unveiled series creates a way to show gratitude and connectivity to each other. Australia has a wonderful tourism sector, especially for our architecture and high-quality theatre. I see this collection bringing people together from across the world, and uplifting the Australian theatre landscape to that of our international neighbours. My main hope is that when you come and see the exhibition between February 5th-14th that you share with me your hometown theatre you grew up performing in, so I can include it in my next instalment, and until then, that you cherish and adopt the pieces already featured in the collection to your own homes.

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AUSTRALIAN THEATRES UNVEILED

Where: Fortyfive Downstairs

When: February 5th – 14th, 2026

Open Hours
Tuesday – Friday: 12pm – 7pm
Saturday & Sunday: 12pm – 4pm

For more information and tickets CLICK HERE