FREE SHOWTIME AT THE ROYAL: THE STORY OF DUBLINS LEGENDARY THEATRE PDF

Thomas Myler | 280 pages | 28 Jan 2017 | The Liffey Press | 9781908308917 | English | Dublin, Ireland The Theatre Royal, Hawkins Street, Dublin, Ireland

Over the centuries, there have been five theatres in Dublin called the Theatre Royal. In the history of the theatre in Great Britain and Irelandthe designation "Theatre Royal", or "Royal Theatre", once meant that a theatre had been granted a royal patentwithout which "serious drama" theatrical performances were not permitted by law. Many such theatres had other names. This was the first custom-built theatre in the city. It opened in but was closed by the Puritans in The Restoration of the monarchy in Ireland in enabled Ogilby to resume his position as Master of the Revels and open his new venture. This Theatre Royal was essentially under the control of the administration in Dublin Castle and staged mainly pro- Stuart works and Shakespearean classics. Although other women had translated or written dramas, her translation of Pompey broke new ground as the first rhymed version of a French tragedy in English and the first English play written by a woman to be performed on the professional stage. In the 18th century, the theatre was managed for a time by the actor-manager Thomas Sheridanfather of playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan. In part of the 18th century structure demolished, and what survived was incorporated into the new Church of St. Michael Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre St. Johns, which remained as one of the most popular Catholic churches in the city centre until Inafter 6 years of building work, the 19th century church building was converted for use as a theatre. Crow Street Theatre was opened by Spranger Barry in It was profitable for a while, but later suffered from the opening of Astley's Amphitheatre [5] [6]. It was opened inbut closed when martial law was declared, relating to the Irish Rebellion of The theatre was wrecked in a riot of ; and there were further riots in Jones attributed his unpopularity to his being active in politics; in he had supported the election of an anti-ministerial member of parliament for Dublin. His application in for renewal of the patent was refused, being granted instead to Henry Harris, a proprietor of Covent Garden Theatre. In August, George IV attended a performance at the Albany and, as a consequence, a patent was granted. The name of the theatre was changed to the "Theatre Royal" to reflect its status as a patent theatre. The building work was not completed at the time of opening and early audience figures were so Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre that a number of side seating boxes were boarded up. On 14 Decemberthe " Bottle Riot" occurred during a performance of She Stoops to Conquer attended by the Lord LieutenantMarquess Wellesley : Orangemen angered by Wellesley's conciliation of Catholics jeered him during the national anthem, and a riot ensued after a bottle was thrown at him. Wellesley's overreaction, including charging three rioters with attempted murder, undermined his own credibility. InHarris retired from the theatre and a Mr Calcraft took on the lease. Bythe theatre was experiencing financial problems and closed briefly. The first production under Harris was a play by Dion Boucicault. Boucicault and his wife were to make their first Dublin personal appearances in the Royal in in his The Colleen Bawn. This theatre was also noted for its musical performances, which included orchestral overtures and interludes to spoken drama and operatic stagings. The orchestra was conducted by Richard Michael Levey — between and the burning of the theatre on 9 February The fourth Theatre Royal opened on 13 December by the actor-manager Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre Mouillot with the assistance of a group of Dublin businessmen. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and built on the site of the Leinster Hall theatre, which in turn had been built on the site of the third Theatre Royal. It had seating for an audience of 2, people. This new theatre found itself in competition with the Gaiety Theatrewhich prompted Mouillot to try to attract as many big name stars and companies as possible. At first, the theatre was noted for its opera and musical comedy productions. Mouillot died in and one of his partners, David Tellford took over the running of the theatre. As musical comedy went out of fashion in the early years of the 20th century, the Royal started to stage music hall Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre on a regular basis. In its final years, the Theatre was also used as a cinema. It closed on 3 March and demolished soon after. It was a large art deco building designed for an audience of 3, people seated and standing, and was intended for use as both theatre and cinema. The theatre had a resident piece orchestra under the direction of Jimmy Campbell and a troupe of singer-dancers, the Royalettes. From the beginning, the sheer size of the building made it difficult for the Royal to remain economically viable. The policy adopted at first to confront this problem was to book big-name stars from overseas to fill the building. However these shows rarely made a profit. With the outbreak of the Second World WarWall and Elliman were forced to keep the two theatres going with native talent only. This led to the emergence of a raft of Irish acts who were to provide the mainstay of the Royal's output for the Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre of its existence. In July Judy Garland appeared for a series of sold out performances and was received with tremendous ovations. The legendary singer sang from her dressing room window to hundreds of people who were unable to get tickets Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre critics dubbed her "America's Colleen". She drew the largest crowds up until that time and was only surpassed by the visits to Ireland of United States President John F. Popular Irish American entertainer Carmel Quinn also made her singing debut here during the early s. Under pressure from rising overheads and the increasing popularity of the cinema and the introduction of televisionthe Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre Theatre Royal, Dublin closed its doors on 30 June The building was subsequently demolished and replaced by a twelve-storey office block, Hawkins House, which was the headquarters of Ireland's Department of Health until It operated as the Screen Cinema from until From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed. Oxford University Press. Subscription or UK public library membership required. Univ of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved 8 November Era of Emancipation: British Government of Ireland, The Irving Society. November Archived from the original on 13 December Theatres in Ireland. Categories : Theatres in Dublin city Demolished buildings and structures in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures demolished in Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Theatre Royal | Mapping Dubliners Project

Vandevelde Karen. Modernisation and national representation in late 19th century Dublin theatres. Traditional theatre historiography regards the Abbey Theatre as the embodiment of the modern phase of Irish drama. This article argues that modernising forces already dominated the artistic policies and repertoires of Dublin's patent theatres and music halls. Moreover, these theatres fulfilled many of the demands of an Irish 'national' theatre. Investigating the concept of 'national representation', this piece argues that issues of prestige, Irishness and representing the majority Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre Irish people were already major preoccupations in Dublin's houses of entertainment. This forces us to re-assess the innovative status of the Irish Literary Theatre and of the Abbey Theatre. They did not invent an Irish national theatre, but rather redefined its role. They continued the move towards national representation in the theatre by staging prestigious Irish drama, but initiated a major change in the way people thought of a national culture when their select sense of taste came to 'represent' that of the entire nation. In Novemberthe impressive opening of a new music hall venue in Dublin, the Empire Palace Theatre, prompted the Irish Times theatre critic to write the following :. The new Empire Palace Theatre was opened last night under the most auspicious circumstances. The house, so graceful in its outlines, so. The audience was a fashionable one, such Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre one is accustomed to see in a first-class playhouse One month later, Dublin's leisured class was treated to the opening of another playhouse, the new Theatre Royal, rebuilt on the Hawkins Street site where the former Theatre Royal had burnt to the ground in Its spacious, comfortable design provided as much a reason to celebrate as did its proposed repertoire Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre opera and drama 2. Similarly, during the summer of the Gaiety Theatre underwent impressive refurbishments in order to meet the demands for improved standards of comfort and safety articulated by a growing middle-class audience 3. These three instances relating to architectural innovations are not mere coincidences. At the end of the nineteenth century, changes in architecture and stage and auditorium design occurred in most theatres in Europe. In return, audiences were expected to conform to a rigorous set of public social codes. As Michael Hays notes, modern European theatres became the public Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre in which a new middle class put on its own performance and set an example of a new social order 4. National theatres in particular came to embody bourgeois cultural practices 5. As such, theatre moved from being a merely popular form of entertainment to embodying the very essence of civilised cultural traditions. In Ireland, most histories of modern drama take the establishment of an Irish National Theatre at the Abbey Theatreinspired by the seminal but short-lived project of the Irish Literary Theatreas their starting point. The Abbey Theatre, associated Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre its early phase with William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory, did, indeed, initiate a crucial change in the history of Irish drama : its architecture welcomed an intimate circle of intellectual, well-mannered spectators ; its repertoire seemed to favour artistic sensibility over popularity ; and, most importandy, the managers' policies indicated a desire to establish a prestigious institution of national significance. The Abbey Theatre's role as a national institution of drama places it at the centre of most criticism of Irish drama. This focus in Irish theatre history also poses problems. While the value of such theatre histories is beyond question, the narratives on which most of these studies are based continue to obscure other, equally important, aspects of Irish drama. A number of critics have tried to redress the balance. Christopher Morash's history of Irish theatre attaches importance to the dramatic traditions prior to and outside the Abbey Theatre ; and the essays collected in A Century of Irish Drama edited by Watt, Morgan 8c Mustafa deal with a range of lesser-known theatres in twentieth-century Ireland. This article addresses the significance of systematic changes taking place in the patent theatres and music halls in the final decade of the nineteenth century. Their innovations in terms of architecture, repertoire and audience management indicate that these theatres, too, recognised the Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre to answer the demands of the 'modern'. More importantly, still, these theatres also wished to play a pivotal role within an emerging 'national' culture. Establishing a prestige national institution of drama was a preoccupation not only for the Abbey Theatre, but also for each of the patent theatres in Dublin. One difficulty in designing an alternative narrative for the emergence of a modern Irish theatre is the fact that significantly fewer sources are available for a study of Dublin's music halls and patent theatres, in particular when compared to the well-documented history of the Abbey Theatre. Nevertheless, information from newspaper reports, theatre programmes and manuscript references can give an indication of their nature and significance for a late nineteenth- century audience. A second, and more problematic issue involves the complexity of the concept of a 'national theatre'. The persistent claims by Yeats and Gregory that their theatre project was, indeed, a 'national' one, long before the state recognition, has made a great number of critics take for granted this project's national theatre status. In order to argue that other theatres, too, could be credited with this title, it is essential Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre to redefine 'national theatre' in more dynamic terms. Throughout the nineteenth century, theatre managers, spectators and critics referred to Dublin's Theatre Royal as "the national theatre of Ireland" because of its prestige status 6. By the end of the century, the interpretation changed from one of prestige to one of representation, a modification also witnessed in other European cultures. A theatre was to be 'national' if it staged drama that was representative of the nation. Loren Kruger argues that the national stage is a microcosm of the national state ; likewise, its national drama presents a microcosm of life in that nation. As such, theatre becomes a symbol of national unity, "summoning a representative audience that will in turn recognize itself on the stage" 7. This definition also calls to mind a more political understanding of the term representation : by representing the nation, the playwright, play, and theatre speak for the nation, speak in the name of the nation. What does it mean Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre a theatre to be representative of a nation? Since the late nineteenth century, national theatre debates tend to focus on three criteria. First of all, a national theatre is expected to represent the majority of the nation. Secondly, in 'speaking for' the nation, the element of prestige remains an important factor : the playhouse should be an institution that spectators can look up to. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the theatre must reflect the national life of its people. In this case, its repertoire must be truly Irish. The last criterion for national theatre status generated a "complex series of definitions and exclusions" 8. However, the two other components of national representation also require further investigation. Who is part of this 'majority' of Irish people? And what is conveyed by the notion of 'prestige'? Moreover, the commercial theatres articulated these responsibilities well before Yeats and Gregory wrote their famous "Letter to the Guarantors for a 'Celtic Theatre'" in 9. Representing the majority. If national theatre status implies 'expressing the voice of the majority' then music halls or variety theatres in late nineteenth-century Dublin met that criterion. More than the established theatres, they drew on a supply of local actors - comedians, serpentine dancers, contortionists, singers - to share the bill with international stars. Music halls relied on ordinary local people, too, to fill their auditorium. With low entrance fees and popular productions, these houses of entertainment catered for the greater part of the city's population : a mere three or six pence gave access to a full night's entertainment. With regard to performers and patrons, Ireland's music halls, not her patent theatres, represented the majority of city-dwellers. In terms of the popular shows staged, they expressed the voice of the majority slighdy differently : music hall managers conveniently interpreted this responsibility as performing for the lowest common denominator of Irish society. Because of licensing laws, music halls were not allowed to stage 'drama. Any theatre production outside of Dublin's three patent theatres, the Theatre Royal, the Gaiety Theatre and the Queen's Theatre, was illegal and the Lord Lieutenant rarely exercised his power to grant temporary licenses Music halls were able to circumvent this regulation by staging short sketches without real plot development or drama without. More popular, however, were their musical and breath-taking acrobatic performances. The high consumption of alcohol during the performances did litde to improve this reputation. That women and children, the embodiments of Victorian moral values, were rarely to be seen in the music halls, underscored the questionable nature of such venues n. Dan Lowrey's Empire Palace Theatre before the renovations known as the Star Theatre of Varieties, and nowadays the Olympia Theatre and the Lyric Theatre were Dublin's most significant music halls in the final years of the nineteenth century. A typical evening's entertainment at the Empire Palace Theatre included an international star singer, comedian or acrobat, supported by a wide variety of performances by foreign or local artists. Very often, a bill consisted of more than a dozen different productions in one night. The Empire Palace's advertisement for 20 Decemberfor example, announced "the Famous Continental Musical Grotesques Bib and Bob," along with "Bartlett and May, Loose-Limbed Man and the Little Girl," acrobatic cyclists, performing cockatoos, pigeons and ravens, and a troupe of jugglers A dexterous quick-change artist named Signor Ugo Biondi paid a successful visit in January On another occasion a series of Tableaux Vivants were presented. These live imitations of well-known paintings were well-liked, especially when the scenes portrayed scantily dressed women in erotic poses While some members of the audience enjoyed the music, comedy or acrobatic display, others preferred the comfort of one of the bars and only returned to their seats in the auditorium when the top of the bill appeared. The prestigious opening of the New Lyric Hall under the patronage of the Lord Lieutenant and the Countess Cadogan was announced shortly after the launch of the Empire Palace Theatre in November Initially, the venue enjoyed notable successes with its programme of classical music concerts, but within a few weeks, the glamour and style of the opening night had disappeared. More money could be made from attractive 'lower' forms of entertainment. One year later, it converted into a proper Theatre of Varieties with a new stage "affording scope for the most elaborate spectacular effects" The manager's promise to provide first-class artistic performances was contradicted by the hall's low admission price ranging from only three pence upwards, which moved the Lyric. Theatre out of the scope of respectable theatres. Cheap seats were not associated with quality entertainment. Although Dublin's music halls offered a more popular, and generally less respectable, type of entertainment than patent theatre halls, Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre distinction should not be drawn rigidly. Dublin experienced less dramatic urban changes in the nineteenth century than London did Therefore, the entertainment business in the Irish metropolis developed more gradually and Dublin's places of variety maintained a higher social status than those in London. In particular at the end of the century, music hall managers made great efforts to conform to the expectations of a civilised society and to operate on a par with the respectable houses of entertainment. In fact, from a commercial point of view, the businesses of popular and prestigious houses of entertainment in Dublin were closely related. Both types of playhouse advertised their bill in the same columns of all daily newspapers. Music hall performances were Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre on the same page that published reports on opera and drama productions at the patent theatres. A great number of spectators, in particular middle-class men, patronised both types of venue, women attended matinee productions, and parties occasionally visited the variety theatres. Local music hall actors and actresses were employed by the Gaiety and the Royal for the production of their annual pantomimes With regard to dramatic fare, too, there was sometimes little difference between music halls and patent theatres. Patent theatres tried to attract audiences with erotic and popular performances just as much as music halls did, but the former were able to do so under the pretence of 'art'. On one occasion, dogs and monkeys - usually associated with music hall productions - are known to have performed in Dublin Castle, the seat of the Irish aristocracy In Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre of architectural design, each of the playhouses invited a large and varied audience and demonstrated a concern for the comfort and safety of their patrons. The new Empire Palace auditorium, for example, was comfortable and luxurious, and divided in stalls, boxes, seats and gallery. The partitions of the auditorium, with corresponding differences in prices, illustrate that music halls were patronised by a large cross-section of society - each group with its own standards of comfort It is not surprising, then, that the chairman of the Empire Palace Theatre announced on the opening occasion that his music hall would Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre with the new Theatre Royal In view of the comfort it provided and the positive public response to the opening, such rivalry was not improbable. Theatre Royal in Dublin, IE - Cinema Treasures

No one has favorited this theater yet. The Theatre Royal, the largest movie palace built in Dublin, or Ireland for that matter when it opened on 23rd September with a variety show on stage and two film shorts on the screen no main feature film. It was the third theatre of the same name to be built on the site. The architects were Leslie C. The Theatre Royal, for much of its life, featured live entertainment as well as films. In July Judy Garland appeared for a series of sold out performances. It has regularly topped polls since as the ugliest building in Dublin, but is fully occupied mainly by government agencies including the Department of Health. There are suggestions that the nearby Screen Cinema, built as the New Metropole by Irish Rank but soon disposed of on part of the site and still in use as a cinema, might also be included in redevelopment plans. So it is possible that Hawkins House, which already led to the demise of two cinemas, might bring down another one when it is redeveloped. Hawkins House seems likely to survive, the recession in property seems to have put redevelopment plans on hold. The site the theatre occupied was 91 feet wide and feet deep. A Ross Scenograph machine was installed in this theatre. Does anyone know what this was used for. Scenographsbetter known as Brennographs were the cinematic version of disco lighting. They could be used with colour wheels to give a variety of lighting effects such as swirls and flashes. Many of these machines were also capable of being used as ordinary slide lanterns for projecting urgent news items over the running feature. Login or Sign up. Contributed by Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre. Recent comments view all 4 comments. You must login before making a comment. Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater? Just login to your Showtime at the Royal: The Story of Dublins Legendary Theatre and subscribe to this theater.