The Opera House

The newly formed partnership of architects A. E. Richardson and Lovett Gill along with Farquarson received a commision to build a theatre on Quay Street. John J. Parkinson-Bailey, in "Manchester An Architectural History" says that the commision came from Irene Vanbrugh. Vanbrugh was one of Britain's highest regarded dramatic actresses. She had appeared in the first production of Barrie's The Admirable Crichton and the first production of Peter Pan in 1904. When the theatre opened on Boxing Day in 1912 it was called The New Theatre.

The facade of the building is regarded as a tribute to Cockrell, who designed the Bank of England on King Street (See Below) and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The facade of the New Theatre featured a bas-relief entitled "The Dawn of the Heroic Age" and beneath it the inscription, "The Play Mirrors Life".

Beneath the inscription are a series of Ionic columns and a pair of roundels containing masks.

The New Theatre struggled to compete with other theatres in the city and in 1915 it was sold to United Theatre Ltd and renamed the New Queen's Theatre. Sir Thomas Beecham performed there on several occasions and it was in honour of him that the theatre was renamed The Opera House.

As with many theatres the Opera House has gone through a number of changes. It managed to survive the Manchester bombings during WWII but in later years it was first a cinema and then a bingo hall. It became a theatre again in 1984.

Below it is seen in the 1980s.

It received a major refurbishment in 2003.

Inside the Opera House has a very large auditorium with two cantilevered balconies. The Theatre's current capacity is 1,920. Outside on the Quay Street front you will find a number of commemorative plaques, see below.