Theatre Royal Waterford
Amharclann Ríoga Phort Láirge[1]
Waterford Theatre
Theatre Royal Waterford is located in Ireland
Theatre Royal Waterford
Theatre Royal Waterford
Location within Ireland
AddressThe Mall
Waterford
Republic of Ireland
Coordinates52°15′35″N 7°06′25″W / 52.2597°N 7.10696°W / 52.2597; -7.10696
Public transitLombard Street bus stop (bus routes 607, 617, 627)
Parnell Street bus stops
Waterford Plunkett railway station (walk 1.5 km / 1 mile)
Typetheatre
Capacity430
Construction
Opened1785
Renovated1876
ArchitectJohn Roberts
Website
theatreroyal.ie

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

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 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. ↑ "Arts Council annual report, 2016" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Theatre Royal, Waterford, Waterford events". Entertainment.ie.
  3. ↑ Graham, Richard (3 April 1980). Cuisine for Cats. Jay Landesman. ISBN 9780905150185 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: Supplement". C. Knight. 3 April 1851 – via Google Books.
  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. ↑ "The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical". 3 April 1883 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "The Theatrical times". 3 April 1847 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "View source for Theatre Royal Waterford" – via Wikipedia.
  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. 1 2 Manning, Cian (31 October 2019). Waterford City: A History. History Press. ISBN 9780750992978 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ Ledger, Edward (3 April 1892). "The Era Almanack, Dramatic & Musical". Era – via Google Books.
  12. ↑ Jordan, Eamonn; Weitz, Eric (18 September 2018). The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Irish Theatre and Performance. Springer. ISBN 9781137585882 – via Google Books.
  13. ↑ "The Gods are Angry, Miss Kerr - PlayographyIreland".
  14. ↑ "History - Theatre Royal Waterford". www.theatreroyal.ie.
  15. ↑ Kane, Conor. "Waterford city buildings evacuated amid hoax bomb alert". The Irish Times.
  16. ↑ Falvey, Deirdre. "Virtual culture to enjoy in the week ahead". The Irish Times.
  17. ↑ Kane, Conor (17 September 2020). "Waterford's Theatre Royal increases seating to 100" – via www.rte.ie.
  18. ↑ "Theatre Royal - Venues - Irish Theatre". www.irishtheatre.ie.


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