Theatre Royal, Glasgow

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The Theatre Royal is located in Glasgow, Scotland.

There have been three theatres on the present site, although the external walls of the current theatre appear to have survived and been re-used after the fires which destroyed the first two auditoriums.

1 History
2 Location
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] First Theatre

The first theatre on the present site was called (James) Bayliss's Royal Colosseum Theatre and Opera House, and opened four days late, on Thursday 28 November 1867 with sensational dramas called The Sea of Ice & The Gold Seeker of Mexico. The architects of this building were Charles Clarke and George Bell. The name was changed to the Theatre Royal by Royal charter when ownership of the building transferred to Messrs William & Glover in May 1869. They had been looking for a theatre to replace their earlier Theatre Royal in Dunlop Street, which was to be demolished to make way for the new St. Enoch's railway station. Some alterations to the interior decor and layout took place alongside the name change.

[edit] Second Theatre

The first Hope Street Theatre Royal was destroyed by fire in 1879. It was rebuilt to a design by renowned English theatre architect, Charles J Phipps, utilising most of the exterior walls of the burnt-out shell of the previous theatre.

[edit] Third Theatre

The 1879 rebuild of the Theatre Royal was almost as short-lived, as it also burnt down in 1895. It was once again rebuilt, again by Phipps, to a similar design as the 1879 plans, and also re-using most of the exterior walls. By then, the owners were Howard & Wyndham, who would later build the Frank Matcham designed King’s Theatre across the city centre in 1904.

In 1957, The Theatre was sold to Scottish Television for conversion into a television studio complex, becoming the main home for the commercial ITV network in central Scotland. The final performance was Robinson Crusoe on Saturday 16th February 1957. Despite the conversion to a television studio, the auditorium was largely left intact. In 1974, Scottish Television moved to custom-built premises next door which, in summer 2007, were demolished and detached from the main building of the theatre.The Theatre Royal itself was purchased by Scottish Opera.

A major rebuild and refurbishment ensued, involving the creation of a new main foyer and backstage areas, but the auditorium was found to still be in good condition, and required only slight remodelling and redecoration. The Theatre Royal thus returned to its original use, re-opening in October 1975 with Die Fledermaus. It is still the home theatre of, Scottish Opera, and also Scottish Ballet, which is based in the city.

In 1997, a lottery funded refurbishment allowed for extensive rewiring of the lighting, as well as a complete front-of-house redecoration. By then, the 1970s scheme of brown and gold was dated and worn, and was replaced with a scheme more akin to the original: cream paintwork with gold plasterwork, cherry red walls, turquoise seating, and red and turquoise carpeting.

In March 2005, the management of the theatre was transferred to the Ambassador Theatre Group, but it will still be the main home for Scottish Opera, which still owns the building. In 2007, an external refurbishment saw the render replaced and the entire exterior repainted in the same yellow colour as it has been since the 1980s.