| Description | Theatre Royal, Wakefield.
'Includes No 2 Drury Lane. The former Opera House, 1894 by Frank Matcham of London, Builders F W Denholm and Co. Altered, 3 storeys, gable end to road. Thinly rendered brick. Classical and Jacobean decorative motifs. Entablature rests on keystones of windows which must once have run through 1st and 2nd floors, but are now blocked except for heads. Between them are busts of composers in scrolled roundels under serpentine open pediments. Lesenes run up through gable end to ball finials. Raised letters in large plaque: OPERA HOUSE. Modern entrance. 2 storey, domed red brick west part holds offices in front, dressing rooms and storage behind.
Inside auditorium has circle and gallery, the latter with original seating (although a later projection room occupies the centre). Bombe shaped balcony fronts have rich plasterwork and are of horseshoe shape. Scrolls of foliage, fruit and flowers on lower balcony, whose stage boxes have been altered to shell head niches. Marine motifs on upper gallery, paired dolphins in waves. Ceiling has eight oval medallions surrounding central rose. Proscenium arch intact, although two floors have been inserted in stage area behind. Fly platforms at both sides above stage, with ranges of cleats for manual haulage of cloths. At stage right a stage manager's box, numbered cloth plan in blackboard paint and hinged cast iron bracket, perhaps for prompt copy. Spartan ancillary accommodation. Good Art Nouveau fireplace in 1st floor office. Graded for the quality of decoration in the auditorium'.
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 01/02/1979. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1258906. Web site accessed 10/12/2013).
The Theatre Royal was the subject of a planning application in 2006 for 'External and internal alterations' (Wakefield Council planning reference number 06/99/25670/V. Application withdrawn). The architect's plans associated with this application have been retained by WYAAS (Arts Team. 2006). |