Theatre Royal (and Drum Theatre)

This is a fine theatre with the considerable attention to detail which marks it out as special. Contained within an octagonal plan are two auditoria, the main house and the 192 seat Drum.

Built by the City Council to provide a welcoming community centre to the redeveloped Plymouth, the Theatre Royal stands proudly and massively on the Royal Parade. At ground floor level glass walls provide an inviting and seductive advertisement of the theatre’s foyers and facilities. Above this level concrete, much of it faced with yellow brick, predominates. The cantilevered glass fronted restaurant is a particularly attractive contrasting feature.

The auditorium is an ingeniously flexible space with fixed seating on three levels. The tiers have flat fronts, the upper forming a demi-octagon, the lower asymmetrical, with a raked arm extending on audience left. The manner in which the tiers approach the proscenium is extremely effective. An unusual characteristic of the Theatre Royal is in its moving auditorium ceiling which allows the upper circle to disappear, transforming the theatre to an intimate space of under 800 seats.

The flat proscenium stage has a forestage or orchestra pit which is flexible and can accommodate 18 or 52 musicians. The grid is equipped with 72 single purchase counterweight sets. The dressing room provision is arguably the most lavish of all the regional theatres.

The design was by Peter Moro whose Nottingham Playhouse (q.v.) was an outstanding contribution to theatre architecture of the 1960s. This theatre makes the same contribution to the 1980s.