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Birmingham Theatre Royal

There was later a Shakespeare Restaurant (with bar in the vestibule) described as "next to the Theatre Royal" Below is advert from 150 years ago. Don't know if this evre held the plaques, but it might have done
 

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Did The Shakespeare pub on Lower Temple Street have anything to do with the theatre?

2011 view



And in 2010 before they redecorated it

 
According to McKenna the shakespeare was originally a narrow three story Georgian house and is shown as a pub like this in a drawing by Tarlington in 1870 before it was rebuilt. He mentions no connection to the Theatre Royal , though name probably came from its closeness to the theatre. It is difficult to follow exactly whether it was called that is early years, as it is not named in directories and Loer Temple st once ran down further before the station was built
 
The Theatre Royal brings back memories of The Student Prince, I was very young when Mom took me to see that show, it left such an impression on me. Later in my life my father in law would play his piano and sing to us, he found the Student Prince late in his life and he too loved it. I think we still have his sheet music stored away.

It was such a sad day when the old theatre was buldozed. Thanks for this lovely post and for sharing all the stories.
 
When the Charles Dickens' Amateur Theatrical Company toured the provinces in June 1848, Dickens prepared a handbill and sample ticket to be printed for the Birmingham performances at the Theatre Royal in New Street. The purpose of the tour was to raise funds to support the curateship of Shakespeare's Stratford home. The handbill and ticket are now held by the Cadbury Research Library. A nice piece of history linking Dickens, Shakespeare's home and Birmingham! The details are below. Viv.


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My only visit to the Theatre Royal wasn't for classic theatre it was for a performance by Frankie Laine in the early 1950s. I remember looking down from high up in the theatre at a fabulous performance sounding just like his records.
 
Performance advertising, Theatre Royal style. This ad would certainly have appealed to me as a child. Although their faces look a bit freaky. Viv.
 

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My only visit to the Theatre Royal wasn't for classic theatre it was for a performance by Frankie Laine in the early 1950s. I remember looking down from high up in the theatre at a fabulous performance sounding just like his records.
Me too!
 
These balustrades once graced the interior of the Theatre Royal. Caption below explains. Viv.

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Don't know Lady P. The Bushall-Matthews acquired them when the Theatre was demolished to make way for the Woolworth's building on New Street. They were balustrades from stall boxes. Viv.
 
image.jpeg Sadly, just 3 months later the balustrades were stolen from the garden. You do wonder if the publicity contributed to their loss. Viv.
 
Some lovely pictures and perhaps this little story wouldn't be out of place here. I certainly haven't seen it quoted on here before and it was one of many told by Frederick William Humphreys, who was Musical Director of the Theatre Royal for 42 years during the second half of the 19th Century.

After the rebuild of 1820, there were no stalls and the pit extended around the orchestra to the stage. In those days, patrons of the Theatre were keen, if not always kindly, critics and their mode of expressing their sentiments was louder and rougher than in more recent times.

It was quite a popular amusement with them to interrupt the most pathetic periods of the play by dropping an empty mineral water bottle from the top tier. The object was to hit the big drum, but if the bottle descended on the artist with the drumstick, no one was perturbed except himself, and the house would much appreciate the inaccurate aim! :tongue:

[Taken from Mr Humphreys' obituary in the Birmingham Gazette & Express dated 1909]

Maurice :friendly_wink:

The cost of seeing a top-tier game of football is the equivalent of a theatre ticket. At a footy game many fans spend 90 minutes abusing referees or players for their poor performance. At the theatre, when the standard is very low, the audience sits in silence. Let's bring back the missiles!
 
From another thread - one of a series of newspaper photos about the demolition of the theatre ... :)
In 1957 a Birmingham Mail photographer climbed down into the hole left by the demolition of the Theatre Royal and photographed a small crowd looking in. I suppose it shows typical clothing worn by Brummies for city centre shopping in those days and all their clothes would have been made in Britain.
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When permission was granted by BCC to re-develop the theatre site for retail use the proposal was to rebuild the Theatre Royal in the vicinity of the Hippodrome/ Alexandra Theatre, to create a mini-Birmingham Theatre land.
 
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