The Round

The Round is Whitehorse City Council’s performing-arts centre in Nunawading, Melbourne, centred on a 626-seat proscenium theatre. Its defining feature is range: alongside the main auditorium sits a 203-seat Studio whose retractable seating can shift the room from conventional theatre to cabaret or cocktail format, then open toward an outdoor soundshell, lawn and natural amphitheatre. That makes this a particularly good fit for seated concerts, theatrical productions and smaller-format performances with room to reshape.

A new house with an older local memory

The Round arrived through a full redevelopment of the former Whitehorse Centre, itself the later name of the Nunawading Arts Centre. A time capsule laid on 16 June 1985 marked the start of construction on that earlier arts centre; when the old building came down, the new project retained pieces of its civic memory, including theatre seats, time capsules and the Bicentenary Leadlight Mural unveiled in 1988. Whitehorse City Council completed the new $78 million venue in September 2023 and officially opened it on 13 October.

That opening gave the building a clear first-night marker: Gary Pinto and Lucy Durack headlined and hosted a concert that filled the theatre with more than 550 people, following a Welcome to Country and music from Kutcha Edwards. The moment suits the venue’s identity: a council-run house designed for professional touring work alongside local companies, schools and civic events.

How the room works now

The Round programs professional theatre and music while serving Whitehorse performing-arts groups, school productions and hirers. Its music slate can reach electronic, rock, metal, R&B, pop, jazz, classical and country, though the wider calendar also carries comedy, cabaret, opera, ballet and family work. For concertgoers, the main room supplies a formal proscenium presentation, mechanised orchestra pit and hybrid fly system; the Studio supplies the more adaptable option. A foyer bar opens an hour before ticketed performances, adding an easy pre-show stop without turning the venue into a late-night club room.