Marriner’s Mark Allan Marches Forth

Melbourne’s Marriner Group are the custodians of some of the most significant venues in Australia, including the Princess Theatre, Regent Theatre, Comedy Theatre, and Forum Melbourne. Without them, Melbourne wouldn’t punch so far above its weight in attracting major international theatrical events and touring musicians.

And CX readers know, it’s an army of workers backstage that keep the Marriner empire running. And, for 32 years until March 4 2026, that army has been headed up by Technical Manager Mark Allan. With his penchant for wordplay and Dad jokes, Mark chose March 4 to ‘march forth into retirement’ and March 2 to host his retirement party, as it kicked off the ‘march to march forth.’

The party was held in Melbourne’s freshly redeveloped LB’s Record Bar, mere metres from The Princess Theatre, where Mark started his career when it became the first Marriner venue. “I first rocked up to The Princess for a job interview 32 years ago on the first of July,” says Mark. “My son Harrison was born that day and his rushed delivery made the newspaper. The management were all there at the big board table. I showed them the article and said, ‘This is why I look like this.’ They gave me the job anyway, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

“My brother asked me what do I think my legacy at Marriner will be,” continues Mark. “I think it started 31‑and‑a‑bit years ago, when Head Mech Graham George ‘Cookie’ Cook and I had just taken over from Cameron Mackintosh after Phantom of the Opera left The Princess, and Marriner started to run the theatres. We watched producers bringing in staff. They’d use some local crew, but by the next show they’d be gone, replaced by a new lot. We said, ‘this is no good. They need to use Marriner crew.’ So we made that rule.”

“That’s the best thing we’ve ever done. Now we have 200 casual crew backstage, with around 80 working at any one time, or around 120 during a bump‑in week. They have constant work. I walk around and see faces every day who have been with us for years. Theatre is such a people‑heavy business, and you can’t replace it with machines. That’s the best part about it.”

Speaking of machines, there was an absolutely show‑stopping contraption at the head of the room that was Mark’s retirement present, a device that its creator, soon to be new Marriner Technical Manager Robert Daniel Harrison, was referring to as The Apparatus.

“This gift is comprised of different components from every venue that Marriner Group operates,” illustrates Robert. “We’ve got an old flood light from the chandelier of the Regent Theatre, a new Regent Theatre house light, an old knife switch from The Comedy, a patchbay from The Princess, a motor controller from The Forum, eye lights from the original Princess, and some chasing festoon on the outside, just to top it off. It was about 30 hours of design, fabrication and programming.”

“It’s worth acknowledging that Mark Allan has been able to hand over the reins to Robert,” observes Marriner Group CEO Jason Marriner. “Robert was first with us for 12 years and completed his apprenticeship as an electrician under Mark. That has made for a seamless handover, and we’re very much comforted in Mark’s departure knowing we have a very capable and respected person in Robert Harrison to take over the reins.”

“I’ve personally very much enjoyed Mark’s companionship, as we all have,” continues Jason. “The banter, discussing our different projects over an egg and bacon brioche roll, but most of all, his friendship and genuine enthusiasm for the people he works with, and for the business. His contribution will stay with us for a long time to come. His DNA is imprinted on everything that we do. It’s imprinted within the people and colleagues in our business. We’re in the theatre business, and it’s all about the people you work with, Mark is testament to the quality of people in our organisation. Mark has been an incredible stalwart of the company. He’s left an indelible mark in the 32‑and‑a‑half years that he’s been with us. When we started back in the business in the early 80s with little knowledge of the theatre, having somebody like Mark on board from really the get‑go has been instrumental in our success.”

Mark has seen a lot of changes in what we refer to as The Uptown Theatres in Melbourne over the years. “I remember walking down to The Regent when it was a glass arcade with escalators going down to the plaza,” Mark recalls. “Then we renovated it, and renovated again. When we decided to bring the balcony forward at The Regent, I thought, ‘Are we crazy? But the result was extraordinary.”

“I still walk in to The Forum Theatre and think ‘I love this venue.’ We did everything to it we wanted to. It’s now a spectacular multi‑purpose venue. We talked about the renovation and adding a goods lift for six months, and the Marriners did it. It was a big team, and the end result is spectacular. I still get blown away by it.”

Mark is a true theatre professional; “We keep to rule number one: the show must go on, and we don’t fail. Well, maybe a couple of times,” he jokes. And he couldn’t resist going out on one last one; “I was speaking to my brother again on the weekend, and he said that 95% of bald men still own a comb. They just can’t part with it.”

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Main Pic: Mark Allan And The Apparatus