Regent Theatre, Sydney
The Regent Theatre in George Street, Sydney, was a large cinema and entertainment venue built for Hoyts. It opened in 1928 and was designed by architect Cedric Ballantyne. The theatre could seat about 2,300 people and had a 40‑piece orchestra plus a Wurlitzer organ.
It began life as a movie house, screening films for many years. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s it also hosted concerts and live stage shows, including performances by the Australian Opera and Ballet, Marcel Marceau, Liza Minnelli, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Humphries and others. The premiere Sydney season of Ken Russell’s Tommy was shown there in 1975.
The Regent closed in 1984. The last live performance was by Ellen McIlwaine on 19 May 1984, and its final film screening was Ski Time on 26 May 1984. In 1974 the Actors Equity union unsuccessfully urged a green ban to stop the building’s demolition, and the venue was used for meetings by the ABC Staff Association in the late 1970s.
Demolition began in 1988 after a court decision allowed it, and the site stayed as a hole in the ground until 2004 when a new high-rise was begun. Many of the theatre’s fittings were sold at auction in 1990.
A lightweight plastic replica of the Art Deco crystal chandelier from the Regent’s foyer now hangs in the foyer of the nearby Metro Theatre; the fate of the original chandelier is unknown. The Regent Theatre was heritage-listed but was ultimately demolished. A remade Regent Melbourne still exists, as do the Regent Theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:06 (CET).