Originally opened as the Princess Theatre and Opera House in 1857 by Australia's then-theatre impresario, George Coppin, but after initial commercial success, fell into disrepair and closed a relatively short 27 years later in 1885.

It reopened a year later in 1886 as the New Princess Theatre, renovated and designed by prolific Melbourne architect William Pitt, noted for designing Parliament and Old Treasury Houses as well in a lavish 'Second Empire' Victorian style.

It then became renowned for drama, opera and ballet over the next 50 years as well as its most famous performer, Frederick Barker or Federico, his stage name.

The theatre cafe' is now named after him and his ghost is said to haunt the Princess, with numerous sightings after he died in rather macabre form playing devilish character Mephistopholes in Faust. He suffered a heart attack just as he was descending into the stage trapdoor, his character descending into the flames of Hell.

The Princess Theatre ran as a cinema in the 1940's during WWII due to the scarcity of resources during the war. It bounded back into the limelight during the golden age of Australian theatre in the 1950's and 60's, highlight productions being classics West Side Story and The King and I.

Its star began to fade again in the 70's and by the 1980's it had fallen into disrepair and closed again until it was bought and spruced up by one of the many entrepreneurs to handle in its history, reopening in 1989.

The Princess Theatre has been a stalwart of the Melbourne theatre scene ever since, holding such legendary productions such as The Phantom Of The Opera, Pirates Of Penzance, Guys and Dolls, MAMMA MIA! and most recently, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.