In 1778 the Theatre was leased to John Palmer, who had probably had a hand in obtaining its Royal Licence. He also owned the Bath Theatre, and ran the two in tandem.
In 1800, the ceiling of the auditorium was raised and sloped back to accommodate the gallery, increasing the capacity to over 1600, nearly 1000 more than the Theatre holds today!
Until it's fortunes were superseded by the opening of the New Theatre Royal (later the Prince's Theatre) in Park Row in 1867, almost every actor and actress of note, had played at the Theatre Royal, including Sarah Siddons, Edmund Kean, William Charles MacReady, and Grimaldi the famous clown. MacReady helped his father to take over the management of the theatre in 1819.
In the middle of the 19th Century under James Henry Chute, the Theatre Royal was the finest training ground for actors in the country, producing Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and many other stars.
But there was no denying the social decline of King Street, as the city centre ceased to be a residential area, and the Chute family finally abandoned the Theatre Royal in 1881 for their new Park Row Theatre.
At the beginning of this century success eluded the Theatre Royal, except for the annual Christmas Pantomimes, which were famous through a performer known as Randolph Sutton, who was a hero of a very young fan called Chris Harris. These Pantomimes brought a much wider audience than was attracted at other times of the year.
In 1942 the Theatre was put up for auction, and because of the destruction of so much property in Bristol in World War II, there was every likelihood that it would become a warehouse. The Council for the Preservation of Ancient Bristol made every effort to secure such an historically, architecturally and theatrically important building. The Theatre was bought for £10500, and the Theatre Royal Trust was created as the new owner.
Appearing this month in 1980
Title: Beside The Sea Author: Brian Jefferies