<< Go Back up to Historic Theatre Photography Home

Theatres in the United Kingdom

Theatres in the United Kingdom

This page features all the theatres we have visited and photographed across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, plus the Isle of Man.
You can watch our short video reel of UK theatres here on YouTube Link opens in new window.

Highlighted Photos

Royal Circle
Royal Circle
Auditorium from Box
Auditorium from Box
Auditorium from Balcony
Auditorium from Balcony
View from Balcony
View from Balcony
View from Gallery
View from Gallery
Stage from Upper Circle
Stage from Upper Circle
Auditorium Ceiling
Auditorium Ceiling
Balcony
Balcony
Auditorium from Stage
Auditorium from Stage
Auditorium from Royal Circle
Auditorium from Royal Circle
Proscenium Plasterwork Detail
Proscenium Plasterwork Detail
Spanish Hall
Spanish Hall
Muses on Auditorium Boxes
Muses on Auditorium Boxes
Ceiling Closeup
Ceiling Closeup
Exterior
Exterior
Gallery
Gallery
Auditorium from Box
Auditorium from Box
Figure with Mask
Figure with Mask
Safety/Fire Curtain
Safety/Fire Curtain
Spanish Hall
Spanish Hall
Exterior
Exterior
Auditorium from Balcony
Auditorium from Balcony
Auditorium
Auditorium
Auditorium Closeup
Auditorium Closeup
Auditorium from Stage
Auditorium from Stage
Auditorium Ceiling
Auditorium Ceiling
Auditorium
Auditorium
Auditorium from Balcony
Auditorium from Balcony
Exterior
Exterior
Box Detail
Box Detail



Theatre Tours

Details of theatre tours in the United Kingdom.

Theatre Timeline

An interactive timeline of all theatres in the United Kingdom.

Upcoming Special Events

Special events happening at theatres in the United Kingdom.


Featured UK theatres:

Aldwych Theatre, London

The Aldwych Theatre opened in 1905, designed as a pair with the Waldorf Theatre (now Novello Theatre) at the opposite end of the block. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R. Sprague. The Aldwych was the Royal Shakespeare Company’s base in London for many years after 1960.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Blackpool Grand Theatre

The Blackpool Grand Theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in July 1894.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Blackpool Opera House

The Blackpool Opera House opened in 1939, designed in the Art Deco style by architect Charles McKeith, and replacing the earlier Opera House which had opened in 1899.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Bristol Hippodrome

The Bristol Hippodrome was designed by Frank Matcham, a prolific theatre designer in the UK. At its opening the theatre featured a huge water tank at the front of the stage which could be filled with 100,000 gallons (450,000 litres) of water, as well as an opening central dome in the auditorium to allow for ventilation.

Britannia Panopticon, Glasgow

The Britannia Panopticon is the United Kingdom’s oldest extant music hall, located within the Britannia Building in the Trongate area of Glasgow’s East End. In accordance with traditions of the time the music hall was built one level above the street, with a public house at street level to serve patrons before and after performances.

Buxton Opera House

The 900-seat Buxton Opera House opened in 1903 and was designed by renowned UK theatre architect Frank Matcham. In part due to its location in a rural area of the country, it survives as one of the best preserved examples of Matcham’s theatre designs.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

The Citizens Theatre first opened as Her Majesty’s Theatre and Royal Opera House in December 1878, and was the first theatre in Glasgow to be built on the south side of the River Clyde. It is notable for having retained much of its elaborate 19th century stage machinery, the only original example of its kind throughout provincial theatres across the UK.

Dominion Theatre, London

Initially built as a super cinema at the end of the 1920s, the Dominion Theatre is now a staple theatre of London’s West End. It is familiar to many as home to the annual Royal Variety Performance for many years.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Edinburgh Playhouse

The Edinburgh Playhouse was built as a super cinema and opened in 1929. For many years it was the largest theatre, by seating capacity, in the UK.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The Festival Theatre opened in June 1994 as a reincarnation of the Empire Theatre, which existed in several forms since 1892 on what is Edinburgh’s longest continuous theatre site, used for theatrical performance since 1830. The current auditorium dates from 1928 while the stagehouse and Front of House areas are modern facilities.

Gaiety Theatre, Isle of Man

The Gaiety Theatre was constructed on the site of a largely unsuccessful entertainment pavilion, and incorporates parts of the pavilion structure (most notably the roof) into the current building. Renowned UK theatre architect Frank Matcham was engaged to build the new theatre, and the Gaiety is now considered one of his finest surviving theatres.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Grand Opera House, Belfast

The Grand Opera House opened in December 1895 presenting variety, music hall (vaudeville) and circus acts. The theatre was designed by prolific UK theatre architect Frank Matcham. The theatre was used as a cinema for a period however now hosts musicals, drama, ballet, opera, and comedy performances as well as educational events and tours.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Grand Opera House, York

The Grand Opera House in York opened in 1902, designed by architect John P. Briggs. The theatre was built by adapting an old corn exchange (opened in 1868) and an adjacent warehouse.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


His Majesty’s Theatre, London

His Majesty’s Theatre, as it currently stands, opened in 1897. It is the fourth theatre to have been built on the site, the Queen’s Theatre having opened there in 1705. The theatre is one of only a few theatres throughout the world whose name has changed in line with the gender of the reigning British monarch.

His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen

The 1,400-seat His Majesty’s Theatre opened in December 1906, designed by renowned UK theatre architect Frank Matcham.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre, opened in December 1906, was originally built to rival to the city’s Royal Lyceum Theatre, however found a different audience and in 1928 merged with the UK theatre chain managed by impresarios Howard & Wyndham. The King’s is locally known as The Grand Old Lady of Leven Street.

King’s Theatre, Glasgow

The King’s Theatre was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd as a sister theatre to the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, and was designed by renowned UK theatre architect Frank Matcham. The theatre opened in 1904 and since then has been Glasgow’s home of legitimate theatre and popular pantomime.

London Palladium

The London Palladium opened in December 1910 and is known throughout the world as the home of Variety. Out of all the theatres in the UK and London which have hosted the annual Royal Variety Performance, the London Palladium has hosted the annual variety extravaganza the most number of times, by far.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

The Lyceum Theatre is the only surviving theatre outside of London designed by noted theatre architect William G.R. Sprague. Despite having been threatened with demolition in the 1970s and falling into a state of disrepair by the 1980s, the Lyceum was fully refurbished and reopened in December 1990.

Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow

One of Glasgow’s oldest theatres, the Pavilion Theatre of Varieties opened on 29 February 1904 as a music hall. The theatre was designed by UK theatre architect Bertie Crewe and is well-known in the City as being the peoples’ theatre of Glasgow.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Richmond Theatre, London

Richmond Theatre was designed by renowned UK theatre architect Frank Matcham and opened as the Theatre Royal and Opera House in 1899. It remains the best preserved example of Matcham’s work in London and is Grade II* listed by Historic England. It is the third theatre to have been built on the site, the first theatre having opened in 1718.

Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre is an intimate 658-seat playhouse completed in 1883. It was the first in Britain to be fitted with an iron safety/fire curtain and the first in Scotland to use electricity for house lighting. The Lyceum is named after the 1834 Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End.

Royal Albert Hall, London

The Royal Albert Hall, in the South Kensington area of London, was opened in March 1871 by Queen Victoria. The nearly 5,300-seat concert hall has played host to the world’s leading artists from many different genres, and has been home to the BBC Proms every year since 1941.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Spanish Hall, Blackpool Winter Gardens

Originally opened as the Spanish Congress Hall in late May 1931, the hall was part of several new additions to the Blackpool Winter Gardens in the early 1930s. At its opening the hall was said to seat 2,000 under a roof that “gives the effect of perpetual sunshine”.

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

The current theatre building dates from 1812, however it is the fourth theatre building to have occupied the site, making this the oldest theatre site in London still in use today. The Drury Lane stage is the largest of any West End theatre and it has hosted many multi-year engagements, including a record-breaking 10-year run of “Miss Saigon”. The theatre is currently owned by noted composer Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s LW Theatres group.

Theatre Royal, Bristol

The Bristol Old Vic’s Theatre Royal is the United Kingdom’s oldest continuously operating theatre, having opened its doors in May 1766. At the time of opening it did not possess the royal patent required for the public performance of plays, so productions were disguised as concerts and the theatre’s entrance was not directly accessible from the street to minimize unwanted attention.

Theatre Royal, Glasgow

The Theatre Royal is Glasgow’s oldest surviving theatre, having first opened in 1867. Following a fire in 1879 the theatre was rebuilt to the designs of noted theatre architect C.J. Phipps and is now the largest surviving example of his work. The Theatre Royal was used as a television studio from the late 1950s before being sold to Scottish Opera and renovated for theatrical use in 1974.

Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne

The Theatre Royal opened in early 1837, designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green. Thirty years later the interior was redesigned by C.J. Phipps. Following a fire in 1899, the interior was redesigned by Frank Matcham. While the exterior retains its 1837 appearance, the interior has been restored to Matcham’s 1901 design.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Theatre Royal, York

The theatre first opened as the New Theatre in 1744, although did not gain a Royal Patent for the presentation of the spoken word until 1769 at which time at which time it became known as the Theatre Royal.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Tower Ballroom, Blackpool

The Blackpool Tower Ballroom opened in 1899, designed by renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Tower Circus, Blackpool

The Blackpool Tower Circus opened in May 1894, designed by renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle upon Tyne

The Tyne Theatre & Opera House opened in 1867 and was designed by architect William Parnell. It is one of only a few Grade I listed theatres in England. The theatre was used as a cinema for many years before reverting to theatrical use in the late 1970s, and is now overseen by registered charity the Tyne Theatre & Opera House Preservation Trust.

This page is under construction, please check back soon.


@HistoricTheatrePhotos on Instagram

Historic Theatre Photography

Photographs copyright © 2002-2024 Mike Hume / Historic Theatre Photos unless otherwise noted.

Text copyright © 2017-2024 Mike Hume / Historic Theatre Photos.

For photograph licensing and/or re-use contact me here Contact Us.



Follow Mike Hume’s Historic Theatre Photography: Follow Historic Theatre Photos on Instagram Follow Historic Theatre Photos on Facebook