VirtualOpenDoors

Theatre Royal,
254-290 Hope Street,
1879,
Charles Phipps.

The first Theatre Royal was built in Queen Street in 1804 by David Hamilton. This building was destroyed by fire in 1829.

In 1839 a new Theatre Royal occupied a building in Dunlop Street designed by William Spence. In 1969, the theatre again moved location to Hope Street.

After another disastrous fire in 1879, a new interior was designed by Charles Phipps. It too burned in 1895 and was once again rebuilt by Phipps. Now restored, by D. Sugden, the theatre is once again in regular use.

The auditorium is formed from two circles and a lower fiddle shaped gallery with boxes flanking the stage.

Lavish plasterwork with putti and strapwork by Jackson and Co. decorates the proscenium, stage boxes and galleries as well as the handsome domed roof.

In 1970, while in use as television studios, the building was again damaged by fire, the interiors were restored by Derek Sugden of Arup Associates between 1974 and 1975.

The foyer, rebuilt at this time, is a two storey space where the upper arches, some open, some mirrored, give the illusion of larger spaces behind."

Virtual Open Doors Online Help

To use Virtual Open Doors, select a building using the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the window. (if you click the arrow the bar will scroll faster).

The text about the building opens in the right hand window, whilst the interactive quicktime images open in the left hand window.

Use the up and down arrows to scroll through the text.

Using your mouse you can scroll round the image.

Close Help