Theatres Trust, the national advisory and advocacy body for theatres, has announced and award of £5,325 for Margate’s Theatre Royal as part of its third round of grants from the Resilient Theatres: Resilient Communities programme.
Grade II* listed Margate Theatre Royal is the last remaining theatre with its design intact by architect J.T. Robinson, employer and father-in-law of celebrated Victorian theatre architect Frank Matcham.
Thanet council will receive the funding for a specialist condition survey for the delicate ceiling plasterwork in the auditorium, which is of historic significance as the only surviving example of Carton Pierre plasterwork by Pashley, Newton, Young & Co.
Theatre Royal is one of 10 venues to receive a share of the £74,835 fund. The theatres are all on the Theatres at Risk Register 2025, published by Theatres Trust in January, and are at various stages in their journey towards restoration and revitalisation.
The property has been shut since April 2022 when the lease agreement with operator Your Leisure was ended.
The historic theatre hosted its final show on April 28 and was then shut to await refurbishment and arrangements for a new operator.
It was listed in 1955, and in 2018, it was added for the first time to the Theatre Trust’s At Risk Register.
The venue was built in 1787 and used as a theatre, with periods as a chapel and cinema until 1963.
It was remodelled in 1874 by Jethro Thomas Robinson. The only other auditorium designed by J.T Robinson is The Old Vic, but after the extensive remodelling of the proscenium arch at The Old Vic, the Theatre Royal Margate is the last remaining theatre with the architect’s design intact.
In March 2021, £2.2m of Margate Town Deal’s £22.2m funding was allocated to the Theatre Royal. Since then, a new plan to create a nationally significant performing arts hub in Margate has been created, focusing on the Theatre Royal’s 245 years of history.
Thanet council says this combines heritage, performance and a move towards financial sustainability. The vision reflects the need to conserve, restore and modernise both the theatre and 19 Hawley Square.
Last year it was agreed to reallocate £2.8m of Margate Town Deal funding from a highways and public realm project to the refurbishment of the theatre.
Initial designs presented by Nick Lee Evans, a Specialist Conservation Architect from Lee Evans Partnership, showed an extension to the Addington Street theatre building, widened pavement, reinstated signage and a new box office entrance.
For the five floor building in Hawley Square designs show rehearsal space in the basement; on the ground floor plans show a studio theatre for 50 people, sound studio, green room, bar and coffee area; first floor plan show offices, meeting spaces and a roof garden and, on the two upper floors, accommodation for the theatre companies.
The 19 Hawley Square venue, which was believed to have historically been The London Hotel, will also have offices and accommodation for touring theatre companies.
The Theatre was bought by Thanet council as ‘owner of last resort’ in 2007. The building was shut for a six month refurb programme and all staff were made redundant. It was then leased back to the Margate Theatre Royal Trust on a peppercorn rent until 2012 when the Trust went into administration.
Thanet council initially bought 19 Hawley Square from Orbit Housing in 2011 with a view to expanding the Theatre’s facilities.
In 2014 Thanet council offered a long lease or freehold interest in the theatre, and buildings at 16a and 19 Hawley Square and there was an expression of interest from Soho Theatres.
Soho Theatres developed a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver an improved theatre alongside community, food and beverage and hotel space at 19 Hawley Square. However, this bid fell through due to being at the end of the funding period although there was sufficient support for the idea.
Your Leisure took the site on in what was supposed to be an interim measure but had been running it up until the closure in April 2022. All staff were made redundant.
Work has recently been completed on making the building watertight. A projected reopening date is May 2027.
The Theatres Trust grant programme aims to help the restoration, reopening or revitalising process for Theatres at Risk through funding expert support with focuses on increasing organisational resilience, improving skills and engaging more people with community and heritage projects.
Work funded in this round includes condition surveys, business planning, fundraising and audience development strategies, a viability study and a governance review.
its should have been demolished years ago , its turned into a money pit , youngsters are not interested in these dated places , a decent developer could even turn that in to some nice flats ?
The difference between the “real world” and the imaginary world of the theatre, real world, is that imagination allows us to see alternative viewpoints and new possibilities.
i think you dreamers are very well catered for , and funded with the ” arts ” and the eyesore that is the turner gallery . i suppose you have your eye on the old theatre next for more of the same ?
How about another money pit art gallery/hub?
So according to you youngsters are not interested in old theatres,what crap you speak ,a good amount of youngsters would go get into theatre and see shows it the right shows are put on ,I think anything you don’t like should be got rid of,is that your logic Anyway £5000+ is a drop in the ocean of what is needed ,not everything is about youngsters
i think you are contradicting yourself there with the comments abou tyoungsters going to the theatre, then saying not everything is about them ? strange logic
All turning into a joke sadly.
ray the bread – that place is not big enough to put on a big show , and it does it have capacity to get crowds big enough to make things pay . why do you think it has been in a spiral of decline for many years ?
You don’t have to put big shows on ,just good shows,the last few years of operations to many woke/pc shows were on ,not good traditional type plays. I saw many many good shows and plays out on by the nice chap who runs the Sarah Thorne theatre in Broadstairs. When he was kicked out or moved on ,the Theatre Royal went down hill fast thanks to the crew TDC put in place and also ruined the Winter Gardens and Blue Wave pool
4 years on and despite many promises the fantastic theatre royal is lying empty, thanet councillors of all parties have failed to act quickly enough to reopen the theatre.
This special piece of theatrical heritage needs to be fully appreciated and cherished. It has a vital role to play in community arts and projects as well as being a venue for touring artistes, stand-ups etc. The development of no.19 to offer extra facilities could make all the difference to its viability.