Theatre Royal, Wakefield
Encyclopedia
The Theatre Royal Wakefield is a theatre
in Wakefield
, England, which dates back to 1894. The theatre was originally known as the Theatre Royal and Opera House.
Wakefield Theatre originates back to the 1770s and was originally controlled by Tate Wilkinson, the actor manager who ran the York theatre circuit for 37 years.
However, it was in 1894 that the Wakefield Opera House that we know and see today was designed by the famous theatre architect Frank Matcham
for a price of £13,000 and was built for local man Benjamin Sherwood.
In the 1920s the theatre had to compete against cinemas and in the summer live shows were replaced by films. In 1954 the theatre closed and became a picture house and a few years later was renovated again into a bingo hall. However, in 1981 it reopened as the Wakefield Theatre Royal under the chairman Sir Rodney Walker. This was due to support for revitalising the theatre from amateur and professional bodies associated with music and drama and also from city figureheads.
The theatre's Executive Director, Murray Edwards is in the middle of asking for permission and raising money to add a new era to the theatre via a studio space and a cafe.
Wakefield Youth Music Theatre is the official theatre company associated with Theatre Royal Wakefield. The company consists of local teenagers from the ages of 11-19 and offers them the chance to showcase their talents in annual summer projects. The most recent of these are High School Musical, Boogie Nights and Footloose, all were huge successes. Their forthcoming 2010 production is West Side Story
.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, England, which dates back to 1894. The theatre was originally known as the Theatre Royal and Opera House.
Wakefield Theatre originates back to the 1770s and was originally controlled by Tate Wilkinson, the actor manager who ran the York theatre circuit for 37 years.
However, it was in 1894 that the Wakefield Opera House that we know and see today was designed by the famous theatre architect Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham was a famous English theatrical architect. He is buried in Highgate Cemetery.-Early career:...
for a price of £13,000 and was built for local man Benjamin Sherwood.
In the 1920s the theatre had to compete against cinemas and in the summer live shows were replaced by films. In 1954 the theatre closed and became a picture house and a few years later was renovated again into a bingo hall. However, in 1981 it reopened as the Wakefield Theatre Royal under the chairman Sir Rodney Walker. This was due to support for revitalising the theatre from amateur and professional bodies associated with music and drama and also from city figureheads.
The theatre's Executive Director, Murray Edwards is in the middle of asking for permission and raising money to add a new era to the theatre via a studio space and a cafe.
Wakefield Youth Music Theatre is the official theatre company associated with Theatre Royal Wakefield. The company consists of local teenagers from the ages of 11-19 and offers them the chance to showcase their talents in annual summer projects. The most recent of these are High School Musical, Boogie Nights and Footloose, all were huge successes. Their forthcoming 2010 production is West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
.