Parramatta’s rainbow carpet rolls out for the return of Queerstories
MEDIA RELEASE 16 FEBRUARY 2024 Parramatta is preparing for the return of one of the City’s most raw and beautiful LGBTIQ+ performances as Sydney’s Mardi….
Read MoreRiverside Theatres is the centrepiece of performance culture in Sydney’s central city, Parramatta, offering live experiences you can’t have at home.
Well-established and highly respected both by the local community and the national arts industry, Riverside is a successful cultural and community asset of City of Parramatta Council. Riverside plays an important role in building a diverse, thriving local city culture.
By connecting artists with audiences, attracting talent and industry and supporting education and innovation, it contributes to the city’s liveliness, vibrancy and economic activity while facilitating authentic community dialogue and interaction. We aim to involve, entertain, enrich, inspire, delight and intrigue artists and audiences from Parramatta and beyond with live performance, events, festivals and community gatherings.
Located on the banks of the Parramatta River, Riverside is nestled in the midst of the Church Street Eat Street precinct. We are easily accessed by road, train and river. About 750 performances and events take place annually attracting over 180,000 patrons.
We are home to Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta, our production arm, and FORM Dance Projects, presenter of independent contemporary dance. As well as being a venue for hire, we present a diverse program of theatre, music, dance, comedy, cinema and festivals under the name Riverside Presents.
We also present an extensive program for families, young people and education. Around 35,000 students from across Sydney region and the state attend events at Riverside each year.
We are committed to making the arts accessible to all as audience but also participation for people with disability. We do this through our Beyond the Square program.
A Bicentennial Project, Riverside opened in 1988 offering three venues under the one roof.
The largest theatre, the Riverside, can house up to 761 patrons with comfortable, plush seating in a conventional proscenium arch stage with orchestra pit and fly tower. Larger scale productions including international acts are often seen on this stage including Shakespeare, comedy, drama, ballet, contemporary dance and musicals.
The Lennox is a flexible space seating 213 people. This theatre hosts medium sized productions like comedy, drama, dance, music and family live performance events.
Raffertys, the most intimate space seats 88 people and suits small corporate events, seminars, stand up comedy acts, small scale productions and cinema presentations.
The Redevelopment of Riverside Theatres presents an opportunity to create a new cultural facility of scale that reflects the values, aspirations and culture of Sydney’s Central City.
The Redevelopment Concept Proposal outlines our vision for a major upgrade and significant expansion of Riverside Theatres. The project includes the construction of a 1350-seat lyric theatre, a newly refurbished 760-seat playhouse, a new 430-seat drama theatre, and state-of-the-art digital studio and cinema.
MEDIA RELEASE 16 FEBRUARY 2024 Parramatta is preparing for the return of one of the City’s most raw and beautiful LGBTIQ+ performances as Sydney’s Mardi….
Read MoreMEDIA RELEASE 7 FEBRUARY 2024 A reimagined Riverside Theatres that is the pride of Western Sydney has moved a step closer with the commencement of….
Read MoreMEDIA RELEASE 21 DECEMBER 2023 Five internationally recognised architectural teams have been shortlisted as finalists for the Design Excellence Competition for the City of Parramatta’s….
Read MoreMEDIA RELEASE 5 OCTOBER 2023 Australia’s newest critically acclaimed musical comedy is on its way to Parramatta with Riverside Theatres and Sydney Festival set to….
Read MoreMEDIA RELEASE 31 AUGUST 2023 Parramatta’s much-loved Riverside Theatres are in the national arts spotlight after being named Performing Arts Centre of the Year at….
Read MoreMEDIA RELEASE 11 AUGUST 2023 The City of Parramatta is excited to launch its multi-million-dollar redevelopment of Riverside Theatres, calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI)….
Read MoreMEDIA RELEASE 2 AUGUST 2023 City of Parramatta’s unique arts and culture sector and night-time economy is about to get bigger and better, all thanks….
Read MoreRiverside acknowledges the Dharug people who are the traditional custodians of the land of Parramatta. We pay our respects to the elders past and present of the Dharug nation and extends that respect to other Aboriginal people visiting this site.