The Kings Theatre

Sited between two converging roads with the entrance at the apex, dominated by a hexagonal tower with a steeply pitched roof surmounted by a cupola. The auditorium has three well curved balconies and is intimate for its large capacity. The first and second balconies abut two superimposed stage boxes on each side. The lower boxes have arched canopies which also form the fronts of the boxes above. These are framed by squat Ionic columns and are backed by shell-hooded niches. The gallery front curves directly into the walls and is separated from the stage boxes on each side by a further large shell-hooded niche (a favourite Matcham decorative motif). The ceiling is in two sections - a flat lower part spanning between the stage boxes, and a large oval saucer-dome at a higher level, decorated with six painted panels. The proscenium is segmentally-arched with an enriched plaster outer frame and an inner frame of alabaster. That the King’s is ‘late Matcham’ is apparent in the heavy modelling of the Baroque plasterwork when compared with, for example, his Gaiety, Douglas (1893) or Grand, Blackpool (1894), and also in a relative coarseness in the handling of some of the forms, e.g. the composition of the boxes, and the heavily emphasised proscenium frame. When considered in an overall context, however the King’s is an important and complete example of Edwardian theatre architecture.

In 2001, after a successful campaign by AKTER (Action for Kings Theatre Restoration) to keep the theatre open, the theatre was purchased by Portsmouth City Council and leased to the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd who undertook the restoration of the building, whilst the Kings Theatre Southsea Ltd operated it on a day-to-day basis.

Since 2003 it has been managed by the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd as a voluntary charitable trust.