Palace Theatre, Manchester
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|
| Address |
Oxford Street Manchester England |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ambassador Theatre Group |
| Designation | Grade II |
| Type | Theatre |
| Capacity | 1,955 (seated) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 18 May 1891 |
| Renovated | 1913 (interior) by Bertie Crewe |
| Years active | 1891–present |
| Architect | Alfred Darbyshire |
| Website | |
| Palace Theatre Manchester website at Ambassador Theatre Group | |
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its sister theatre the Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent company, Ambassador Theatre Group. The original capacity of 3,675 has been reduced to its current 1,955.
The theatre, originally known as the Grand Old Lady of Oxford Street, opened on 18 May 1891, having been designed by the architect Alfred Darbyshire at a cost of £40,500. The interior of the theatre was renovated under by Bertie Crewe in 1913, the renovation took seven months and the theatre reopened with a reduced seating capacity of 2,600.
In September 1940 the theatre took a direct hit from a German bomb during the Manchester Blitz.
In the 1970s audience numbers declined, as they did in many live venues, and it was threatened with closure. The Arts Council supported it in the 1980s, and after major internal refurbishment and an enlarged stage facility, it was run by a charitable trust, Norwest Holdings.
It is now one of the best equipped and popular theatres outside London. In its repertoire it hosts major touring musicals often with major celebrities and performances of opera and ballet along with various other comedy acts and one night concerts.
In 2008 the Royal Opera House and Manchester City Council began planning stages a new development known as Royal Opera House, Manchester. The proposal would have seen the Palace Theatre refurbished, to create a theatre capable of staging productions by both the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera. It was intended that the Royal Opera House would take residence of the theatre for an annual 18 week season, staging 16 performances by the Royal Opera, 28 performances by the Royal Ballet and other small-scale productions. A year later The Lowry sent an open letter to the then Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Ben Bradshaw, Arts Council England, Manchester City Council and the ROH, calling for the scheme, in its current form, to be scrapped. In 2010 it was announced that the project was being shelved as part of larger arts-funding cuts.
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