Behind the curtain: Photographing Australia’s historic theatres and cinemas

For more than two decades, photographer and author Gavin John has documented some of the world’s most remote and extreme environments. But his latest project has taken him somewhere rather different: inside Australia’s historic theatres and cinemas.

Australian Theatres and Cinemas, due for release in October 2026 through Woodslane Press, follows John’s previous book, Australia’s Historic Pubs, and explores the architecture, history and people behind some of the country’s most significant entertainment venues.

The idea came while John was travelling around Australia photographing historic pubs.

“While travelling extensively around Australia during 2023 and 2024 shooting the Pubs book, I spotted several beautiful old theatres, especially in regional Australia,” he says.

“I shot some tourist photos and even spoke to some of the owners who were onsite doing renos. I pitched the idea of a book on theatres to my publisher who green lit it – and that was the end of any other plans I may have had for 2025 and 2026!”

What followed was a mammoth photographic and research project, requiring John to visit venues across the country and negotiate access to buildings that aren't always easy to photograph.

Unlike historic pubs, where owners and publicans were generally happy for him to arrive and shoot, theatres presented a different set of challenges.

“The theatres, especially the grand picture palaces and theatres in the capital cities, were a completely different beast,” he says.

“Obtaining access to these required multiple entreaties and then waiting for a date when the venues would be ‘dark’, without a production in place or without capital works underway.”

Based in Melbourne, John was able to work around the schedules of local venues, but photographing theatres in other states required considerably more planning.

He made three separate trips to Sydney and surrounding regions alone, while a total of 20 trips out of Melbourne were required to complete the project.

The photography was only part of the job. John also researched and wrote 65 essays, one for each venue, while securing approval from venues for both the photographs and accompanying text.

“The collation of the photographs, plus the research and writing ... then getting clearance from all the venues for the images and text prior to submitting to the publisher and book designer was a mammoth task,” he says.

The first photographs were made in August 2024, with the final shoots, in Western Australia, completed in May 2026. The complete project was submitted to the publisher on June 26 for design, setting out and proofing.

Inside the theatres

For the project, John photographed the theatres exclusively with his Nikon D850.

His main lenses were a Nikkor 16-35mm for interiors and a Nikkor 24-70mm for some exterior work.

While he would normally turn to an 85mm prime for portraits, the people featured in the book were photographed in their workplaces, making the wide-angle zoom more useful.

“I was happy to use the 16-35mm with LED fill lighting where required,” he says. “Plus this meant I could lighten my equipment load.”

A tripod was another essential part of the kit. John used a Manfrotto tripod with a 322RC2 Joystick Head, which he particularly likes for its speed and handling.

Despite receiving assistance from stage technicians with venue lighting, long exposures were often unavoidable.

“I needed a tripod to ensure I could use low ISO and with a small aperture,” he says. “Some of the shots are 20-second exposures.”

Long exposures introduced their own problems inside theatres. Even seemingly static elements aren't necessarily still when the shutter is open for that long.

“You soon learn how much the drapes in a theatre move when you have such long exposure times.”

The result is a project that combines John's long experience in documentary and environmental photography with a more recent fascination with Australia's built heritage. 

Australian Theatres and Cinemas will be published by Woodslane Press in October 2026. You can currently order the book with 15% off here.