The Pram Factory


The Pram Factory was an Australian alternative theatre venue in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton. The building was previously a factory that made baby carriages Plays premiered at The Pram Factory include Don's Party, the satirical The Hills Family Show, and Pecking Orders by Phillip Motherwell It is best known as the home for the Australian Performing Group. Writer Helen Garner was a frequent patron at The Pram Factory before and during the writing of her seminal 1977 novel Monkey Grip, which showcased much of what was then a considerably counter-cultural, bohemian Carlton and inner-city Melbourne. Garner's former husband, Bill Garner, had been a member of The Pram Factory performance group throughout its heyday.
The building was demolished in 1980 despite protest from the theatre community and Carlton residents. The Lygon Court shopping centre was built in its place to the designs of architect Ermin Smrekar.