Address | Theatre St, Norwich, Norfolk Norwich United Kingdom |
---|---|
Owner | Norwich Theatre |
Type | Theatre |
Capacity | Main: 1,308 Stage Two: 200 |
Construction | |
Opened | 1758 |
Rebuilt | 1801 and 1935 |
Architect | Tim Foster Architects |
Website | |
https://norwichtheatre.org/ |
The Theatre Royal is a theatre in Norwich, England. It is one of the country's oldest established theatres, founded in 1758. It was rebuilt in 1801 and 1826. It burnt down in 1934 and was bombed during world war two.
Peter Wilson ran the theatre between 1992 and 2016. It is now run by Stephen Crocker.
The theatre was founded in 1758 by Norwich architect and investor Thomas Ivory, modelled on the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The building was capable of housing a maximum audience of one thousand in 1758. It was granted the title "Theatre Royal" in 1768, with rights to perform all drama. The Theatre Royal was rebuilt by William Wilkins in 1800 and again in 1826. [nb 1] [1] [2] [3] [4] Gas replaced candles and oil lamps in 1836. [5] In 1894 the theatre was closed for several months in order to carry out a scheme of reconstruction and redecoration from the designs of Frank Matcham. [6]
The "Theatre Royal" status attracted stars of the day to perform at the theatre. Sarah Siddons (1755–1831) performed the role of Hamlet, Juliet, and Lady Macbeth. African American Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge performed at the theatre in January 1848. [3]
The theatre owner's death in 1902 led to its auction. [nb 2] [7] The theatre burnt down in 1934 and just over a year after its successor was revealed. [nb 3] [8] In November Harry Lauder made his first visit to Norwich in 1935. [9] In 1903 owner Fred Morgan sold the property to Mr Bostock and Mr Fitt and it was given the name Hippodrome for a year. In 1904 it was renamed at the Theatre Royal. In the twentieth century, actors such as Cary Grant, and Charlie Chaplin (with Fred Karno) performed on the boards. The building was destroyed by fire in 1934 and was bombed during World War Two. Audience numbers dwindled with the advent of cinema and then television. The theatre began showing films and boxing matches and later rock and roll shows. [5]
The theatre was threatened with closure and the city council gathered a rescue package. In 1970 Dick Condon became the manager. [5] Following his death Peter Wilson ran the theatre between 1992 and 2016. The theatre had a major refurbishment in 2007. [10] Stephen Crocker, a former deputy CEO of The Lowry theatre followed as the Chief Executive. [5]
Norfolk is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and east, Cambridgeshire to the west, and Suffolk to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Norwich.
Norwich is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about 100 mi (160 km) north-east of London, 40 mi (64 km) north of Ipswich and 65 mi (105 km) east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich City Council local authority area was estimated to be 144,000 in 2021, which was an increase from 143,135 in 2019. The wider built-up area had a population of 213,166 in 2019.
William Wilkins was an English architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He designed the National Gallery and University College London, and buildings for several Cambridge colleges.
East Anglian English is a dialect of English spoken in East Anglia, primarily in or before the mid-20th century. East Anglian English has had a very considerable input into modern Estuary English. However, it has received little attention from the media and is not easily recognised by people from other parts of the United Kingdom. The dialect's boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon; for instance, the Fens were traditionally an uninhabited area that was difficult to cross, so there was little dialect contact between the two sides of the Fens leading to certain internal distinctions within that region.
Norwich railway station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the cathedral city of Norwich, Norfolk. It is 114 miles 77 chains (185.0 km) down the main line from London Liverpool Street, the western terminus.
Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.
Ashby St Mary, historically Ascebei, is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish has an area of 2.03 square kilometres (0.78 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 297 in 115 households, the population increasing to 316 in 120 households at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk.
Owen Ramsay Nares was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of Myself, and Some Others (1925).
The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama (hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the junction with Westminster Bridge Road, just south of the River Thames in what is now the London Borough of Southwark.
The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital stood on a site in St Stephen's Road, Norwich, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1771, it closed in 2003 after its services had been transferred to the new Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Many of the buildings were then demolished and replaced by housing.
Charles Denier Warren was an Anglo-American actor who appeared extensively on stage and screen from the early 1930s to late 1960s, mostly in Great Britain.
Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager.
The history of the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh involves two sites. The first building, on Princes Street, opened 1769 and was rebuilt in 1830 by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd. The second site was on Broughton Street.
Ann Brunton Merry was an English actress popular in the Kingdom of Great Britain and later in the United States of America.
Edmund John Eyre (1767–1816) was an English actor and dramatist.
The Playhouse is a theatre in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England. It is a Grade II listed Georgian building dating from 1820. The building became a school in the 1850s, and after serving several other purposes reopened as a theatre in 2000.
Harriet Siddons, sometimes known as Mrs Henry Siddons, was a Scottish actress and theatre manager.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England.
The Theatre Royal was built in the Barnwell suburb of Cambridge, England, in 1816. It closed later that century but reopened as the Cambridge Festival Theatre from 1926 until 1935. The building, in which part of the interior of the theatre survives, is Grade II* listed.
John Brunton (1741–1822) was an English actor who became the manager of a circuit of theatres in and around Norfolk. He assiduously cultivated emerging talent in his company, which also produced actors amongst his children and grandchildren. He also used funds from his theatrical successes to fund philanthropy, including establishing the Norwich Theatrical Fund.