Royal Lyceum Theatre

Coordinates: 55°56′49″N 03°12′16″W / 55.94694°N 3.20444°W / 55.94694; -3.20444
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Royal Lyceum Theatre
C. J. Phipps
Tenants
Royal Lyceum Theatre Company
Website
www.lyceum.org.uk

The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat

C. J. Phipps at a cost of £17,000 on behalf of James B. Howard and Fred. W. P. Wyndham,[1] two theatrical managers and performers whose partnership became the renowned Howard & Wyndham Ltd created in 1895 by Michael Simons of Glasgow.[2][3][4]
[5]

With only four minor refurbishments, in 1929, 1977, 1991, and 1996, the Royal Lyceum remains one of the most original and unaltered of the architect's works.[6]

Opening night was 10 September 1883[7] with a performance of Much Ado About Nothing by the company of the London Lyceum Theatre, and starring Henry Irving and Ellen Terry.[8]

In 1965, the building was purchased by the Edinburgh Corporation from Meyer Oppenheim to house the newly formed Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, who are now the permanent residents, leasing it from the City of Edinburgh Council.[9]

The Royal Lyceum has been one of the principal venues for the

Fringe companies.[9]

The Royal Lyceum has primarily been known for its provision of drama. It has also presented some significant opera, from the first tours of

The theatre was the first in Britain to be fitted with an iron safety curtain, and the first in Scotland to use electricity for house lighting.[11]

David Greig took over from Mark Thomson as artistic director in 2016.[12]

The interior of a grand theatre with a decorated roof, taken from the perspective of an audience member. You can see floating paper balloons above the seats that are a part of a festive performance.
Interior of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, set up for a Pantomime.

Ghosts

Poster for a performance of William Gillette's Held by the enemy at the theatre in 1887

The theatre is believed to be haunted, and there have been sightings of a blue lady who is believed to be Ellen Terry, the actress who performed at the Lyceum's first show. In addition, a shadowy figure has been reportedly seen high above the stage in the lighting rig.[13] Many sightings have been reported to have been accompanied by a ringing noise.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Grindley Street and Cornwall Street, Edinburgh, Scotland".
  2. ^ "The Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, Cowcaddens, Glasgow".
  3. ^ The Theatre Royal: Entertaining a Nation by Graeme Smith, published 2008
  4. ^ "Building history", Royal Lyceum website
  5. ^ "Opening of the Royal Lyceum Theatre". The Edinburgh Evening News. 11 September 1883 – via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  6. ^ "Opening of the Lyceum Theatre". The Scotsman. 11 September 1883 – via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk.
  7. ^ a b "Company history", Royal Lyceum website
  8. ^ Fraser, Iain and Fraser, Stephen (2013) 'Royal Lyceum Theatre' OperaScotland
  9. OCLC 44184624
    .
  10. ^ "David Greig named Lyceum Theatre's artistic director". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 9 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Why you've more than a ghost of a chance of seeing a spook". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 8 November 2004.

External links