Theatre Royal

The Theatre Royal is a working theatre built in 1865 to designs by the celebrated theatre architect Charles J. Phipps. It was subsequently altered by Phipps himself in 1884 and by another leading theatre architect, Frank Matcham, in 1896-97. The building underwent extensive remodelling and extension in 1976-78 by Nicholas Thompson and Clare Ferraby of the Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership working with Iain Mackintosh of Theatre Projects Consultants Ltd, specialists in theatre design.

The entrance block has a stuccoed façade with a portico constructed in Mansfield and Ancaster stone. The 1976-78 additions are concrete-framed with mosaic tile cladding on brick. The roofs are of structural steel construction with wood wool slabs covered in bituminous felt.

The Theatre Royal forms part of an entertainment complex with the Royal Concert Hall (built 1980-82), which adjoins it on the north side. The theatre has a rectangular entrance block running east to west, behind which lies a rectangular range aligned north-west to south-east containing the auditorium and stage. Large additions from 1977-78 extend from the east and west sides: the eastern block houses front-of-house facilities while the western contains administrative offices and backstage areas.

The entrance front features a five-bay portico supported by six Corinthian columns with renewed pendant lamps in each bay. The column bases are Mansfield stone while the tapering shafts, rising to carved Corinthian capitals, are Ancaster stone. These columns support an entablature with a moulded architrave, a plain frieze bearing applied metal lettering spelling 'THEATRE ROYAL', and a dentilled and bracketed cornice. Above this sits a deep attic storey divided into five blind bays by panelled pilasters topped by restored ornamental urns.

Behind the portico stands a two-storey façade divided into seven bays by Corinthian pilasters. The two end bays are wider and extend beyond the portico's width. The five central bays contain round-arched double doors at ground level with round-arched French windows and cast-iron balconies above. The end bays, which have an entablature matching the portico's and a balustraded parapet, feature identical round-arched French windows arranged in pairs on both floors, though the first-floor windows have pilastered surrounds. The two return bays, rebuilt in 1976-78, are framed by Corinthian pilasters with window and door openings matching the end bays. The left return has a single recessed doorway at ground level and a single French window above; the right return has paired French windows on each floor. All openings have moulded lintels with elongated keystones.

The eastern elevation facing South Sherwood Street consists of a mosaic tile-clad addition from 1976-78. Rising in three stepped levels with roof terraces, its undulating façade with rounded corners is divided into three sections by narrow floor-to-ceiling windows. The window opening at the right-hand end, behind which is the stalls bar, was enlarged in 2016-17 to accommodate a larger ribbon window. Also dating from the early 21st century is the gridshell canopy (not of special interest) projecting over the dress circle roof terrace and street-level pavement at the northern end of the façade. To the right, a mosaic tile-clad link block from 1980-82, formerly called 'the undercroft', connects the theatre to the Royal Concert Hall to the north.

A further mosaic tile-clad addition from 1976-78 adjoins the western side along Goldsmith Street. Also of three stepped levels above a basement, it has an undulating façade with rounded corners and narrow floor-to-ceiling windows. A blind staircase tower forms the left-hand section, to the right of which are double-height steel loading-bay doors. To the right again is a dressing room block with curved walls receding towards the entrance block. An office suite with extruded aluminium-framed windows projects at second-floor level, running across the top of the loading-bay doors and dressing room block. Rising above this range is the upper section of the stage wing, which has rounded corners and metal sheet cladding. The basement area is enclosed by mosaic tile-clad dwarf walls topped by metal railings.

The three foyer levels have been created by opening out the original front-of-house circulation spaces into a large addition from 1976-78. They occupy inverted L-shaped spaces on the south and east sides of the auditorium. Linking the three levels is an Art Deco style dog-leg staircase of reinforced concrete with marble cladding and brass handrails; a glazed lift was inserted in 2015. Unless otherwise stated, the features described below date from the theatre's 1976-78 remodelling.

The ground-floor (stalls) foyer has a deep moulded cornice marking the extent of the original theatre walls, with the circular auditorium wall divided by round-headed recesses occupied by large mirrors with wooden frames on fluted brackets. On its east side, a sunken seating area of circular shape lies beneath the staircase. A late-20th-century Art Deco style kiosk stands immediately north of the seating area, on the east side of the foyer, in the position formerly occupied by the box office and box office manager's office. Its design replicates that of the original 1976-78 kiosks and foyer bars, comprising a wooden counter top, fascia and tambour doors with a marble-clad counter front. Directly facing this kiosk, on the auditorium side of the foyer, is the front section of an original Art Deco style kiosk constructed from the same materials as the later-20th-century kiosk. It originally housed a cloakroom and confectionery kiosk, but these were removed in the late 20th or early 21st century and replaced with a toilet block. Placed immediately behind the toilet block is the 'stalls right' entrance to the auditorium. It has double raised and fielded two-panelled doors and a dentilled entablature surmounted by scrolled and foliated cresting. An identical doorway, minus the cresting, is situated where the foyer narrows on its west side, providing access to 'stalls left'. The northern end of the foyer is occupied by a bar remodelled in 2016-17. While the original bar survives in situ, its polished wooden counter top, bar back and kickboard have been painted and its brass footrail removed. At the same time the bar was extended northwards into the former 1980-82 'undercroft'.

The principal features on the first-floor (dress circle) and second-floor (upper circle) foyers are the original Art Deco style bars. Of curvilinear form, they have marble-clad counter fronts with wooden counter tops, fascias, bar backs and kickboards with brass footrails. The auditorium entrance doorways from these two levels, of which there are two to each level, also comprise raised and fielded two-panel double doors with dentilled entablatures. A section of original banquette seating still survives in the upper circle foyer level. Access to the upper balcony level is gained from the upper circle foyer by way of a stepped vomitorium (secondary passage) accessed through wooden double doors with applied panelling placed at the centre of the rear wall of the auditorium.

The circular auditorium, accessed from the foyers through break-lobbies, has three tiers of horseshoe-shaped cantilevered balconies from 1896-97. Each level has fibrous plaster mouldings and cornices, with moulded skirting boards and dado rails. At the rear of the stalls an encircling line of ten fluted columns with Corinthian capitals separates the seating from a curved walkway. Four of the columns are cast-iron and support the cantilevers of the dress circle balcony, while the rest are false. On either side of the stage there are two sets of boxes at dress circle level while the other three levels have single boxes, all from 1976-78. The sweeping box fronts and S-curved balcony fronts are decorated with fibrous plaster mouldings: putti on the dress circle boxes, cartouches on the other boxes and dress and upper circle balcony fronts, and cartouches on the upper balcony. The balcony front plasterwork is largely from 1896-97, while that to the renewed boxes was designed to match the existing balcony fronts. The proscenium frame from 1976-78 comprises two fibreglass Corinthian columns, from the capitals of which springs the proscenium arch. The safety curtain from 1976-78 features a painting of a cherubim orchestra, painted by Henry Bardon. The circular, shallow-domed ceiling is ornately decorated with Rococo plasterwork, with the original board timber roof trusses visible through the plaster. At its centre hangs an elaborate winch-operated chandelier from 1976-78.

The rear brick wall of the stage was largely rebuilt in 1976-78, but some elements of Phipps's 1884 stage wall are visible in several areas.

The backstage facilities, comprising dressing rooms, band rooms, green room, wardrobe and workshops, are accommodated over three levels of the 1976-78 addition on the west side, while the administration offices occupy the second floor of this block. Internal finishes in these areas are kept to a minimum with fair-faced block walls, some painted, and storey-height wooden doors with architraves. The administration offices are separated from a corridor by timber and glazed screens with slatted timber ceilings.