Theatre_Royal,_Waterford

Theatre Royal Waterford

Theatre Royal Waterford

Add article description

The Theatre Royal Waterford is a theatre located in Waterford, Ireland.[2][3]

Quick Facts Address, Coordinates ...

History

A bust of the composer and musician William Vincent Wallace (1812–1865) stands outside the Theatre Royal.

The Theatre Royal was founded as a patent theatre in 1785, with playhouse and Assembly Rooms designed by local architect John Roberts; As You Like It was the first production. The Ball Room (Large Room) opened in 1788. James Sheridan Knowles's first work, Leo; or, The Gipsy, premiered at Waterford in 1810.[4] The actress Maria Ann Campion was also associated with the theatre.[5]

The theatre suffered a fire on 5 April 1837.[6]

In November 1846, during the early part of the Great Famine, the theatre was "compelled to close its doors prematurely." At the time, a Mr Watkins Burroughs was manager.[7]

The building was upgraded to its current form in 1876, under John Royston, who showed comedies and opera buffa.[8] Oscar Wilde lectured at the Theatre Royal after his famous 1882 tour of the U.S. In January 1882 there was a small fire during a performance of H. M. S. Pinafore, but the manager calmed the audience and the fire was extinguished without loss of life.[9]

Smoking was forbidden in 1882, as a fire control measure, rather than as a public health issue.[10] Fred Jarman's Sarah was shown in 1892.[11]

In the 1900s it showed musical theatre and silent movies, with guests including King Edward VII. In 1929 it showed the city's first talkie, The Singing Fool.[10]

In the 1950s it was suggested that the performance area be closed and the theatre be converted into council offices, but instead it reopened in 1958, and a festival of light opera was founded. Jim Nolan founded Red Kettle Theatre Company in 1985 and staged his experimental play, The Gods Are Angry, Miss Kerr.[12][13] Recently[when?] the theatre has been renovated again.[14]

In 2016 the Theatre Royal was the victim of a bomb hoax, along with other buildings in the city.[15]

The theatre closed during the COVID-19 pandemic; it reopened in August 2020 with a capacity of 100 people due to social distancing requirements.[16][17]

Description

The theatre sits 430 people; the stage is under a proscenium arch 13.5 metres (44 ft) and measures 6.2 metres (20 ft) wide. Its depth is variable: 5.5 m (18 ft) at stage right and 7.5 m (25 ft) at stage left.[18]

References

  1. [1]
    "Arts Council annual report, 2016" (PDF).
  2. [2]
    "Theatre Royal, Waterford, Waterford events". Entertainment.ie.
  3. [3]
    Graham, Richard (3 April 1980). Cuisine for Cats. Jay Landesman. ISBN 9780905150185 – via Google Books.
  4. [4]
    "Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: Supplement". C. Knight. 3 April 1851 – via Google Books.
  5. [5]
    Blackburne, E. Owens (3 April 1877). "Illustrious Irishwomen: Being Memoirs of Some of the Most Noted Irishwomen from the Earliest Ages to the Present Century". Tinsley Bros. – via Google Books.
  6. [6]
    "The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical". 3 April 1883 – via Google Books.
  7. [7]
    "The Theatrical times". 3 April 1847 – via Google Books.
  8. [8]
    "View source for Theatre Royal Waterford" – via Wikipedia.
  9. [9]
    Bowring, sir John (3 April 1882). "The Westminster review [afterw.] The London and Westminster review [afterw.] The Westminster review [afterw.] The Westminster and foreign quarterly review [afterw.] The Westminster review [ed. by sir J. Bowring and other]" – via Google Books.
  10. [10]
    Manning, Cian (31 October 2019). Waterford City: A History. History Press. ISBN 9780750992978 – via Google Books.
  11. [11]
    Ledger, Edward (3 April 1892). "The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical". Era – via Google Books.
  12. [12]
    Jordan, Eamonn; Weitz, Eric (18 September 2018). The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Irish Theatre and Performance. Springer. ISBN 9781137585882 – via Google Books.
  13. [13]
    "The Gods are Angry, Miss Kerr - PlayographyIreland".
  14. [14]
    "History - Theatre Royal Waterford". www.theatreroyal.ie.
  15. [15]
    Kane, Conor. "Waterford city buildings evacuated amid hoax bomb alert". The Irish Times.
  16. [16]
    Falvey, Deirdre. "Virtual culture to enjoy in the week ahead". The Irish Times.
  17. [17]
    Kane, Conor (17 September 2020). "Waterford's Theatre Royal increases seating to 100" – via www.rte.ie.
  18. [18]
    "Theatre Royal - Venues - Irish Theatre". www.irishtheatre.ie.


Stub icon

This article about a theatre building in the Republic of Ireland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Theatre_Royal,_Waterford, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.