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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/26/melbourne-theatre-restaurant-witches-in-britches-closure>
"Stepping into the dungeon-like front room of Melbourne’s last remaining
theatre restaurant, Witches in Britches, feels akin to visiting an 80s
Melbourne goth nightclub – complete with coffins, skulls, red leather couches
and even a fright-tunnel accessed through a dusty hole in the wall.
A collection of kitsch skulls, bats, dragons and pentacles are on display in a
glass cabinet, with a mournful soundtrack booming through speakers that sounds
like it could be taken from a forgotten Boris Karloff midnight matinee.
Courtney Lee, 22, who goes by the floor name Salem, greeted customers as they
shuffled in on a recent Friday evening to see the comedy/burlesque show
The
Spy who shagged me. “I just love interacting with the customers, sometimes
scaring them as well, that’s probably the highlight of my week,” says Salem,
who has worked in the venue for three years.
“This is a place where everyone, including staff and customers, can feel free
to be themselves. I identify with the alternative goth scene here in Melbourne
so I feel lucky to be able to bring that into my workplace.”
After 35 years of operation, the venue’s days are now numbered. The building
was sold in 2022 for $7.2m and the new owners have been clear that they intend
to demolish it when the current lease expires at the end of 2028, the
62-year-old Sicilian Australian owner, Maritzio Termine, says.
“I am very proud to be the last theatre restaurant left standing in Melbourne –
there’s a lot of history to it. We’ve only survived through a lot of sweat –
but we must be doing something right."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
