The New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. Web Page No 2782 8th May 2021

1st Picture: The frontage of the present building

2nd Picture: The words New Theatre Royal incorporated in the frontage

3rd Picture: One of the famous wrestlers when the building was the Royal Arena was the Mohawk Indian Billy Two Rivers.

4th Picture: Victorian advertising poster for the theatre

The Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II listed theatre with a capacity of 667. The theatre was built in 1854 as the Landport Hall and was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham. The Theatre reopened in October 2015 after a £4.7M refurbishment project. The present building was built to replace a theatre located in the High Street Old Portsmouth that features in Nicholas Nickleby. It was a popular music hall and hosted performances by Paganini and Liszt . It closed in 1854 and was demolished in 1856 to allow for the construction of Cambridge Barracks. This building now houses Portsmouth Grammar School. The three-arch entrance to the school occupies the location of the theatre. In the same year as the old theatre was demolished, Henry Rutley opened a new venue on the present site. He was an impresario and circus proprietor who had arrived in Portsmouth in 1854 and purchased the Swan Tavern in Commercial Road and the adjoining Landport Hall, a racquet court. He converted the hall to accommodate equestrian displays and applied to the magistrates for permission to construct a new theatre on the site. The magistrates granted a licence for a limited period with the condition that there was no direct access from the tavern. A door to the hall, bricked in during building, was temporarily uncovered during renovation work in 2004. The theatre opened on 29th September 1856. In a typical week the theatre would host two plays a night with matinees at the weekend. Rutley died in 1874. \Mr. Boughton then became manager in 1876 and after the death of Rutley's successor took over control of the Portsmouth Theatres Company in 1882. Rutley's widow eventually sold the theatre to him. Most of the famous performers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries appeared at the Theatre Royal. Sir Henry Irving and his leading lady and mistress, Ellen Terry, appeared many times both individually and together. Sarah Bernhardt performed there on several occasions, including her legendary appearances in later life when in a wheelchair. She left her signature on the wall of the dressing rooms, Marie Lloyd was also a regular. Laurel and Hardy appeared before fame in Hollywood and Oliver Hardy chose the theatre as the venue for his birthday party in 1954. Morecombe and Wise were among many stars who appeared early in their career. Henry Irving died on tour in 1905 but his last complete set of performances was completed two weeks earlier at the Theatre Royal Portsmouth. Ellen Terry was appearing there the week he died. During some of performances his secretary Abraham ('Bram') Stoker - author of his biography and of Dracula - worked in the offices backstage. The programming provides an insight into the talent and workload of the acting profession up to theWW2. In most weeks, the performances would change with as many as three distinct programmes of shows. Posters show an actor taking the lead in Hamlet followed by the lead in a farce at the start of the week and the lead role in different plays at the weekend, a formidable memory load. From 1856 to 1976 the theatre was officially the Theatre Royal. At some point the 'New' was informally added probably inthe middle of the century. The frontage of the theatre says both "Theatre Royal" and "New Theatre Royal". By the 1920s, radio and cinema led to the decline in attendances and, coupled with economic depression, theatres began to close. These including the Prince's and Kings. theatres The Theatre Royal was home to a repertory company, The Denville Players, until 1932 when it had a projection room installed and became a cinema. Portsmouth was subject to extensive damage during WW2. The neighbouring Prince's theatre was destroyed by a direct hit during a matinee for children but the Royal escaped unharmed. It continued as a cinema until 1948 when it reverted to a variety theatre in fact the theatre was the venue for the first live rock 'n' roll performance in the UK in 1954. The Theatre Royal was eventually forced to shut in 1955. In 1956 Bernard Delfont's 'Brilliant Summer Revue' starring David Nixon was in the Theatre Royal for a Summer Season. In 1957 it opened as a repertory theatre but this was short lived and from 1960 it operated only as a bingo hall and a venue for wrestling. In 1966 the owners the Portsmouth Theatres Company, sought permission to over-ride its 'listed' status and demolish it. The council agreed. A pressure group was formed to oppose this, leading to a council decision in which the proposal was beaten by only one vote! The empty building began to attract vandals. In 1968 squatters occupied it and brass fittings and roof lead were stolen. The continuing decay and damage led to the formation of the Theatre Royal Society which pressured to defend and preserve the building. This campaign included the locally born actor Brian Murphy who had starred in 'The Boyfriend' and is now a patron of the theatre. The society became the New Theatre Royal Trust in 1976. In 1971 Ken Russell chose the theatre as the location for a film version of "The Boyfriend". He chose the ballet dancer Christopher Gable and Twiggy for the lead roles backed by a cast of experienced actors including Barbara Windsor, Brian Murphy and there was a cameo role for Glenda Jackson (not listed in the credits). Ken Russell shot most of the film on location in the empty theatre and adjoining streets. It was to be the Victorian theatre's last performance. The following year, 1972, children entered the theatre and lit fireworks setting the stage on fire. But by the time the fire brigade arrived the rear was ablaze. Early in the fire the ropes of the safety curtain burned through causing it to fall into place saving the auditorium. The stage and the entire building behind the proscenium arch was destroyed. Once again, demolition was proposed but the Theatre Royal Society opposed the plan. In 1975, volunteers started the long process of repair and renovation. The New Theatre Royal (Portsmouth) Limited was registered in 1976. The theatre was gradually repaired, largely by volunteers, and slowly came back into operation. In 1984 a small temporary stage was built over the orchestra. Productions were largely restricted to amateur performances. Damage extended beyond the fire in 1972. Thieves stole brass fittings and other artefacts and in the 70's thieves with a van stole the auditorium doors which had been removed for renovation whilst volunteers worked in the theatre. In the early 70's artefacts, papers and records including a large collection of posters were moved from the managers office for safekeeping. These records were transferred to an empty shop nearby in Guildhall Walk. Two years later, the entire content of the shop had disappeared. Neither the volunteers or the owner of the shop had authorised or knew of their removal. These items were never retrieved. In the early 'noughties', builders renovating a house in Southsea found a number of posters from the theatre under the floorboards. Most dated from the 1860s. They were sold to Langford Antiques in Albert Road Southsea where they were framed and sold. Several were purchased for the theatre trust. In 2003 the Board of Trustees commissioned a report which advised a short closure and re-launch and the appointment of an experienced professional director. The Trust was awarded £440,000, the largest single grant given by the Onyx Trust. With additional funding, the cast iron portico was renovated, central heating and a new pit bar installed, and the original seating in the stalls. A larger stage was built in front to accommodate this, the frontage of the lower boxes had to be removed. Investigation revealed that these were prefabricated and fitted using large bolts. They were stored until eventually reinstatement when the new stage was built. Drama, stand-up comedy, music and dance became features of each season whilst work with local schools and community groups was expanded. However, performances were still restricted by the lack of a proper stage and limited seating capacity. Inevitably, lack of operating finance became problematic necessitating a period known as "NTR Lite" with less risky but less exciting programming. Shortly after the recruitment of a new executive director, the trust embarked upon the most challenging an exciting period since the remodelling by Matcham. The board of trustees came up with a plan to rebuild the stage and back stage accommodation in addition to teaching facilities for the university. In 2009, Peynore and Prasad were contracted to design the building and a professional fundraiser was appointed to raise the estimated £4m cost. A fund-raising programme began in 2010 with a weekend finishing with a gala performance Compared by Sandi Toksvig and headlined by Sheila Hancock, Paul Jones and Christopher Timothy were among the cast list. At the end of the evening, Sheila Hancock accepted the invitation to become the patron of the theatre. In May 2010, the theatre hosted the first screening in nearly three decades of "The Boyfriend. The screening was preceded by an interview with Ken Russell and cast members Twiggy, Brian Murphy and Georgina Hale plus the score composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davis, former Master of the Queens Music. The interview was hosted by local television personality Sally Taylor. Following this event, Twiggy, Sir Peter and Brian Murphy agreed to join Sheila Hancock as patrons. The theatre is now planning a full programme for the future Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

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