Princess Theatre Brisbane: Heritage Venue, Parking and Getting There

The Princess Theatre in Brisbane is a heritage-listed live music and theatre venue at 8 Annerley Road, Woolloongabba, built in 1888. It holds about 900 people standing or 500 seated, and it is about 3 km by road from the Brisbane CBD.

It is the kind of place you visit for a show rather than a wander, so this guide covers what is on, how to get there without a car park, and what to expect at the door.

What’s on at the Princess Theatre

The venue puts on live music, comedy and stage shows, and its events page filters by music, comedy and stage. Music genres range from rock and indie folk to electronic, metal and punk, and the stage side includes dance-theatre and live podcasts.

The venue also has private event spaces, a rehearsal room and an outdoor courtyard, and it was planned as a home for the visual theatre company Dead Puppet Society. Shows can sell out, so check the venue’s events page for the current line-up and how to buy tickets.

Food and drink

There are four bars in the venue, and a public cafe, Fables Bar and Cafe. The venue’s own site also lists other late-night spots nearby, such as Le Bon Bar and Brewhouse Brisbane, and South Bank’s entertainment precinct is a short walk away.

A short history of the Princess Theatre

The building was designed by architect John Beauchamp Nicholson and built in 1888 as the South Brisbane Public Hall, later known as the Boggo Road Theatre. It hosted performances, vaudeville and skating, and the Salvation Army used it from the 1890s.

Over the years it was also a clothing factory and a movie house, and from 1942 to 1945 it was the rehearsal and administrative centre for the United States Entertainment Unit. TN! Theatre Company leased it from 1986 until 1991, and a church owned it from 2003 to 2020. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992, which describes it as the only intact surviving 19th century theatre in Brisbane. New owners refurbished it as a live music and arts venue, with the first concert in August 2021 and the official opening in October 2021.

It is a two-storey brick building with a classical street facade and a mansard roof. Inside there is a proscenium arch, and the gallery has six rows of tiered seating.

Getting there and parking

By car it is about 10 minutes from the Brisbane CBD, about 3 km. There is no on-site parking and street parking is limited. The venue suggests Princess Parking, the Mater Hospital car park, the Vulture Street Car Park and the Queensland Cricketers’ Club Car Park, so allow time and some cost. For rideshare and taxis, Uber and DiDi are booked through their apps and Yellow Cabs and Black and White Cabs on 13CABS. Hotel Diana is right beside the theatre.

Mater Hill busway station is under 200 metres away and South Bank busway station is within 1 km. South Bank train station is about 850 metres away: exit onto Grey Street, turn right toward Vulture Street, then turn right at Clarence Corner onto Annerley Road.

Accessibility at the Princess Theatre

There are two steps from the street into the venue, so the step-free route is the wheelchair lift next to Fables cafe. The auditorium, courtyard, Fables and front foyer are wheelchair accessible. The upstairs mezzanine and its toilet, the gallery and the greenrooms are not.

Companion Card holders get a free second ticket, subject to availability in the accessible section. Assistance animals are welcome. To join the accessibility list, email [email protected] at least two business days before the event, and listed patrons can skip the queue on arrival. For accessibility questions, phone 07 3852 1711 in business hours.

The courtyard next to the auditorium has seating, toilets, dimmed lighting and reduced noise, and it is open from an hour before doors until about an hour after the show.

Nearby

• Woolloongabba – restaurants, the Gabba and things to do in the suburb.
• The Gabba – the stadium a short distance away.
• QPAC – Brisbane’s big performing arts centre across the river.
• Brisbane Powerhouse – theatres, markets and live shows at New Farm.
• Boggo Road Gaol – another piece of the area’s history.
• South Bank Parklands – food, Streets Beach and the river before or after a show.
• More in the theatres and live music page.

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• The Tivoli (Fortitude Valley)
• The Triffid (Newstead)
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