A New Name, A New Vision: ALEX THEATRE ST KILDA

The new arts hub being created on the site of the old George Cinemas in Fitzroy Street, St Kilda today announced a name change for the site. It will now be known asAlex Theatre St Kilda. The new venue will house two state-of-the-art theatres and a professional rehearsal space/black box theatre catering for the arts and entertainment community, while still having the capability to operate as a cinema.

The Minister for the Arts, Hon. Heidi Victoria MP, as well as the Shadow Minister for the Arts, Martin Foley MP, were at today's announcement.

Founder and Managing Director of the project, entrepreneur Mr. Aleksander Vass has invested $1 million dollars in the refurbishment, signifying one of the largest private investments in the arts in Victoria in recent years. Mr Vass said the name of the site had to change because the existing George Hotel, bars and restaurants all have their own strong identities and so it was time for the new arts hub to forge its own identity.

"The Alex Theatre name has ties with Victoria's stage history, being one of the first successful venues established in the 1800s. Also, worldwide it's the name of iconic venues, so I take it all as a good omen," said Mr. Vass. "It was also important to have St Kilda in the title because we are the newest part of an edgy, rich arts culture that keeps on giving to locals and visitors alike."

"St Kilda residents have been blunt in telling me how much they want our theatres to succeed. Now we need to get the rest of Victoria to sit up and take notice."

Alex Theatre St Kilda will program live shows and cinema, and will work as an 'attractor' to the cafes, restaurants, hotels and bars in the area.

"We have created a professional rehearsal space that could see multi-million dollar musicals rehearse during the day and then we'd screen movies in the same space at night," said Mr. Vass

Alex Theatre St Kilda General Manager Richard Fitzgerald says all is on track for the proposed opening next February.

"We are on-track for a February 1 opening, with some very exciting shows already booked in and our listing as a venue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2015."

"We are thrilled to announce Ticketek as our ticketing partner. It's a huge boost for our smaller and mid-range shows to have access to Australia's biggest entertainment company," Mr. Fitzgerald said.

"The Ticketek team has worked hard with us to create simple, straightforward and supportive approach which will be better for our audiences and producers."

Alex Theatre St Kilda will open in February 2015, providing a new arts hub for St Kilda and greater Melbourne.