Liverpool's Royal Court

How Theatres Trust's advice helped shape the future of a significant regional theatre

The Art Deco style Grade II listed Royal Court Theatre has been at the heart of Liverpool’s cultural scene for nearly 200 years and is the largest producing theatre in the city, with a focus on engaging non-traditional theatre audiences.

Sadly by 2009 the theatre was in extremely poor repair and needed a major capital project to allow it to continue to operate and expand its facilities and reach.

Theatres Trust was involved from the start of the project, advising on charity arrangements, business planning and helping secure a long-term lease on the theatre. We also gave guidance and advice on tendering for architects and planning, as well as providing letters of support to help with fundraising.

The £7.2m capital project was split into three phases and in the third phase, the Royal Court commissioned Theatres Trust to conduct an Advisory Review to look at its plans from architectural, operational and environmental perspectives. The works following the review included improvements to both front-of-house public facilities and back-of-house areas, including improved accessibility throughout. The review report was also used to inform the Royal Court’s submission for a second phase of Arts Council England funding.

In 2018 Liverpool’s Royal Court became a National Portfolio Organisation, testament to how far the theatre had come in recent years and its import role in Liverpool’s cultural offer. In 2022, we were delighted to be able to support the venue again, awarding a £5k grant from our Small Grants Programme with The Linbury Trust to purchase technology to enable people with hearing and visual impairments to access main house and studio theatre productions, helping the theatre to reach even wider audiences.

This case study was produced as part of our Fifty@50 campaign to mark our 50th anniversary in 2026.

Photo credit: Ian Grundy