From Wednesday to Saturday,
there is a huge amount of night time hotspots to
visit in Perth, although occasionally it can seem as if there are
more venues than people.
The larger dance clubs are intense in Northbridge,
Subiaco and Fremantle and are friendlier epicentres for the over
30 crowd. Perth is home to a healthy indie rock scene and the ‘craic’
is good at several Irish pubs.
Some venues demand a smart standard of dress and
some have a cover charge, generally around A $10.
Pubs tend to be licensed from Monday to Thursday
10.00 am to 12.00 am, Friday and Saturday 10.00 am to 1.00 am and
Sundays 12.00 pm to 10.00 pm.
Bars and nightclubs have longer hours and are licensed
for the complete time that they are open. Most clubs stay open until
5.00 am or later / earlier on Friday and Saturday.
The minimum legal drinking age is 18 years old.
A spirit or premium beer costs in the region of A $5.50.
Free entertainment weekly XPress
is the best resource when planning a night on the town, while Teknoscape
is a useful clubbing guide.
Bars
‘Lounge bars’ are very popular in Perth, with hip
venues such as:
The Jazz Room
Address: 677 Beauford Street, Mount Lawley.
Sophisticated drinkers tend to be attracted to:
The Varga Lounge
Address: 169 James Street, Northbridge
A popular but sometimes described as tasteless venue is:
The Moon & Sixpence British Pub
Address: Murray Street
Which serves a wide range of Australian and international beers.
The Duxton Bar
Address: 1 St George’s Terrace
Offers quiet surroundings for a quiet cocktail.
A crawl of Fremantle pubs are essential to drink in when visiting
this port town:
The Bog
Address: 189 High Street
Benny’s
Address: 10 South Terrace
Casinos
Situated a short distance east of the city, the pyramid shaped Burswood
International Resort Casino, Great Eastern Highway, has over 140
gaming tables, offering blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette and
the classic Australian game of two-up.
The complex also contains 9 restaurants, 6 bars,
free nightly entertainment, a 5 star luxury hotel and an 18 hole
golf course. Normal casino dress standards apply, persons under
18 years old are not admitted and a passport is required for identification.
A free shuttle bus carries visitors between Burswood station (Armadale
Line) and the casino.
Clubs
Apparently,
in an effort to please everyone, Perth nightlife has lately crystallised
into a number of ‘entertainment complexes’ combining
discos, bars and live music venues.
The Globe
Address: 393 Murray Street
Bonds a pumping techno area with a late night bar featuring live
bands.
The Deen
Address: 84 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge
Brags no less than 6 zones and four DJ's, every night except Monday.
Metropolis Fremantle
Address: 58 South Terrace
Either features major international touring bands or is a multi
level dance club.
The Rosemount Hotel
Address: 458 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth
Employs DJ's from Wednesday to Saturday, playing Hard House, NRG
and freeform.
Rise
Address: Corner of Lake Street and James Street, Northbridge
Is serious about dancing, with a huge dance floor and state of the
art sound system.
Connections
Address: 81 James Street, Northbridge
This gay venue still offers the best music and light shows in town
and everyone, no matter what their orientation, seems to end up
here.
Comedy
Perth has raised some of Australia’s finest comedians.
The Brass Monkey features comedy on Wednesday nights.
Address: Corner of William Street and James Street, Northbridge.
Werzel’s Comedy Lounge at the Hyde Park Hotel features
comedy on Thursday nights.
Address: Corner of Bulwer Street and Fitzgerald Street.
The Fremantle Hotel is the venue for stand up comedy
every Friday.
Address: Corner of High Street and Cliff Street
Burswood Casino hosts international touring acts.
Address: Great Eastern Highway.
Cultural Events
The Perth International Arts Festival takes places
every year, from mid-January to mid February, showcasing local and
international dance, theatre, film, music and visual art at venues
around Perth. The festival is the oldest of its kind in Australia,
dating back to 1952.
Further into the year, July sees National Islander Observance
Committee Week, which features exhibitions
of indigenous art and traditional performances.
Perth’s Pride Festival happens in September
/ October, with a range of gay and lesbian cultural events finishing
in a street parade and dance party.
Dance
The West Australian
Ballet (telephone: (08) 9481 0707), resident at His Majesty’s
Theatre, performs a repertoire of modern dance as well as classical
ballet.
Buzz Dance Theatre (telephone:
(08) 9226 2322) is an important local modern dance company. Major
Australian and international dance companies often tour to Perth
and perform at His Majesty’s Theatre and the Burswood Theatre.
Film
Mainstream movies are screened at Hoyts
(telephone: (1902) 263 456) and Greater
Union (telephone: (1902) 263 456) multiplexes throughout Perth.
Tickets are less expensive on Tuesdays.
A good budget cinema in the middle of town is:
Piccadilly
Address: Hay Street Mall
Telephone: (08) 9322 3577
Arthouse cinema is enjoyed at:
Cinema Paradiso
Address: 164 James Street, Northbridge
Telephone: (08) 9227 1771
Website address: www.lunapalace.com.au
Luna
Address: 155 Oxford Street, Leederville
Telephone: (08) 9444 4056
Website address: www.lunapalace.com.au
Outdoor movies are popular during the summer
months, at the Sunset Cinema in Kings Park, the Luna in the Park
in Leederville and the Somerville Auditorium at the University of
Western Australia.
Perth is somewhat under represented in Australian cinema. Peter
Weir’s Gallipoli (1981) and Scott Hicks’ Shine (1996)
are debatably the best movies to include Perth as a setting.
Modern Perth also appears in Bill Bennett’s Kiss or Kill (1998).
Hollywood stars Heath Ledger and Frances O’Connor were initially
from Perth.
Literary Notes
Perth features in several important Australian books.
A B Facey is the author of the panoramic autobiography
and quintessential ‘Aussie battler’ story, A Fortunate
Life (1981) and lived for a large part of that life in Perth, working
on the (now redundant) tram system.
Tim Winton’s
modern classic, Cloudstreet (1991), records 20 post war years in
the life of a Leederville family.
Robert Drewe’s memoir, The Shark Net (2000), evokes
Perth in the 1950's, during serial killer Eric Cooke’s reign
of terror.
Archie Weller’s The Day of the Dog (1980), about
urban Aboriginal life in Perth, is a key work of black Australian
literature, Sally Morgan’s poetic My Place
(1987) is another.
Perth was also home to Australia’s greatest Aboriginal playwright,
Jack Davis, who tackled injustice in The Dreamers
(1982) and No Sugar (1986).
Writers who currently call Perth home include Australian literary
grande dame Elizabeth Jolley, who composed Miss
Peabody’s Inheritance (1983) and An Accommodating Spouse (1999),
as well as acclaimed, reclusive science fiction author Greg
Egan, famous for Permutation City (1994).
Music
The West Australian
Opera (telephone: (08) 9321 5869) performs 6 to 9 weeks per
year at the Edwardian His Majesty’s Theatre:
Address: 825 Hay Street
Telephone: (08) 9265 0912
Website address: www.hismajestystheatre.com.au
Perth Concert Hall is the prime venue for classical music and also
the home of the West
Australian Symphony Orchestra (telephone: (08) 9326 00110).
The hall’s acoustics have been said to be the best in Australia.
Perth Concert Hall
Address: 5 St George’s Terrace
Telephone: (08) 9484 1133
Website address: www.perthconcerthall.com.au
Live music in Perth is popular.
The
Universal Bar
Address: 221 William Street, Northbridge
Has live soul, funk or rock every night, as well as a suitably cool
atmosphere.
The Subiaco Hotel
Address: 465 Hay Street
Hosts jazz on Wednesday and Saturday night, customers can listen
while enjoying bistro meals.
Local rock bands perform from Wednesday to Sunday at:
The
Grosvenor
Address: Corner of Hill Street and Hay Street
A large ‘surfie’ crowd meets on The Lookout
for bigger Australian acts and rowdy good times.
Address: The Esplanade, Scarborough Beach
The American themed Mustang Bar offers country
and western, rockabilly and big band swing,
Address: 46 Lake Street, Northbridge
Freo’s
Orient Hotel, provides a salsa band on Sunday nights.
Address: 39 High Street
The Perth Entertainment Centre, is Perth’s
main venue for blockbuster shows and major rock groups.
Address: Wellington Street
Theatre
His Majesty’s Theatre is the elegant
venue for opera, ballet, musicals and other theatrical presentations.
Burswood Theatre presents big budget
musicals, such as Chicago and Fame.
Address: Burswood Casino, Great Eastern Highway
Telephone: (08) 9362 7777
The Art Deco Regal Theatre used to be a cinema,
but now hosts bedroom-farce-style theatre.
Address: 474 Hay Street, Subiaco
Telephone: (08) 9484 1133
The Perth Theatre Company
Telephone: (08) 9325 8366
Website address:: www.perththeatre.com.au
Treads the boards at the Playhouse Theatre
Address: 3 Pier Street
Telephone: (08) 9231 2377
Website address: www.playhousetheatre.com.au
The more cutting edge Black
Swan Theatre Company (telephone: (08) 9388 9388) is based at
the Subiaco Theatre Centre:
Address: 180 Hamersley Road, Subiaco
Telephone: (08) 9382 3385
Website address: www.subiacotheatrecentre.com.au
Yirra Yaakin Theatre is a leading Australian Aboriginal theatre
company whose performances combine traditional dance with contemporary
issue-based drama.
Address: 65 Murray Street
Telephone: (08) 9202 1966
Website address: www.yirrayaakin.asn.au |
