NEW THEATRE ROYAL.
The original Theatre Royal Portsmouth opened on the 29th September 1856, the frontage was about 38 feet, with the total depth 110 feet and housed two
circles, and numerous boxes in the lower circle.
In 1876, John Waters Boughton became manager, and later the owner of the Royal. Boughton soon realised the converted hall was too small to
become a major venue, so decided to build a new theatre and commissioned CJ Phipps as designer.
Phipps was a noted theatrical architect and was responsible for many fine theatres, including Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.
The New Theatre opened on 4th August, 1884, with Princess Ida.
This new theatre did good business, the great actors Irving, Ellen Terry, Bernhardt appeared on the stage and within 16 years, Boughton decided to enlarge the auditorium and stage.
He engaged Frank Matcham the greatest British theatre builder of the era, to re-design the Royal, the two had already worked on the rebuilding of the Prince’s Theatre in 1891.
In April 1900 the theatre was again enlarged, De Jong of London was responsible for the plaster work, and Whiteheads did the marble, both of whom employed mainly Italian craftsmen
for these tasks.
In 1932 the theatre was converted into a cinema and through the 1950's and 60's was used for a variety of different uses such as wrestling and bingo.
During the late 1960's and early 1970's the theatre stood empty and vandalised. Then in 1972 children playing with fireworks caused a fire which destroyed the great stage and technical block.
The Theatre Royal Society set up a Trust Company in 1975 and it was this Trust Company which managed to purchase the Theatre in 1980. With a great deal of work carried out by volunteers the theatre has been lovingly restored.
In January 2004 the theatre closed for 6 months, re-opening September/November 2004 with the following refurbishments:-
- the capacity was increased to 525
- the stage was extended to 13m by 7m
- heating was installed
- a lighting grid was rigged over the stage
- a full height get in was constructed
- the interior was repainted and refurbished
- the stalls were remodelled and re-seated at the same time the front of the building was restored to its former Victorian glory, following a grant from the Onyx Environmental Trust
The theatre now hosts a wide range of entertainment, including dance, theatre, drama, music, children's shows and comedy.
The New Theatre Royal can also be hired for corporate events such as product launches, training events and award shows.
Car parking available at:
