Theatre Royal

Tradition suggests that the first theatre opened as a People's Hall, converted from a methodist chapel which may, in turn, have had a previous existence as a colliery winding house.

Following the 1949 fire only the rear wall of the 1894 theatre was left, but the plain three-storey façade to Pall Mall with four sets of double doors and dressing room block facing Brunswick Street, may possibly belong to the 1871 rebuild. The rest was rebuilt in 1951 (at a time of stringent building restrictions) not in the fashionable post-war idiom of that time but in the manner of a thirties cine-theatre. It would seem, therefore, to pre-date what is usually documented as 'the first new theatre to be built in this country since the war', Middlesbrough Little Theatre (1957) (the 1954 Vanbrugh at RADA being discounted as a drama school theatre).

Stalls with seventeen straight rows, the Dress Circle had a flat U-shaped front. Three boxes forming slips at gallery level. Flat stage with very little wing space on stage left.

Ensuring that all the Art Deco recessed illumination and light panels in the auditorium were in full working order was no small matter as some 360 individual bulbs were involved. Additional light was originally supplied by six Waterford Crystal chandeliers formerly in the German Embassy in London. Four of these are still in situ. A fifth is now hung in the foyer. The proscenium arch, which had been altered, has been returned to its original 1951 state - complete with two illuminated number frames on each side, possibly the only extant working examples. The façade has been completely re-covered with maroon tiles replacing the former yellow ones. A television 'challenge' operation to get the theatre up and running again was mounted in 1993.

The theatre had its defects, including imperfect sighting from upper levels which would be difficult to remedy, and a study of theatre and concert venues in Stoke, commissioned by the City Council from Arts Business Ltd, concluded that the Royal had 'cramped facilities' making it impossible to host large scale modern touring musicals.

In 1997 the theatre reopened after a major refurbishment operation. However the venture only lasted until 2000. In 2001 planning permission was given for the theatre to be converted to nightclub and live music use, and the building is currently divided into two venues.