The Queen's Theatre is a theatre in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...

, England. It assumed its current form in 1993, but the history of theatre in Barnstaple can be traced back to at least 1435, when

minstrels A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

players Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film starring Ali MacGraw * ''Players'' (2012 film), a Bollywood film * ''Players'' (Dicks novel), a novel by Terrance Dicks, based on the television series ''Doc ...

jugglers Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...

and

buffoon A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

s were an established feature of Barnstaple's annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

. Documents indicate that in 1605 a touring troupe, the King's Players visited, and it is believed that

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

was one of their members.

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

, a renowned contributor in the theatre world, best known for the '

Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

' was born in Barnstaple. Barnstaple's first theatre was built in Honey Pot Lane (now Theatre Lane) in 1760. By 1832, it had become 'ruinous' and was forced to close. A new theatre, 'The Grecian Hall', opened in 1834. Renamed 'The Theatre Royal' around 1860, it regularly staged popular musicals and musical comedies. By 1880 this too had closed, although performances continued at a large room above the Corn Market (the site of the present theatre) which had served as a music hall since 1854. The 'Theatre Royal' re-opened in 1893 and the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

, now the 'Albert Hall', in 1897. The two venues operated successfully until just prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the 'Theatre Royal' was demolished. The Albert Hall continued providing musical entertainment until 1941, when it was destroyed by fire, probably from a discarded cigarette. In 1952 the hall was rebuilt (only the outer walls had survived the fire) as ''The Queen's Hall''. Although with a plain and functional interior, it served the Barnstaple community, for a variety of purposes of live entertainment, antique markets, dog shows and similar functions for over forty years. In 1993 the local council decided to fully refurbish the building, reopening as The Queens Theatre. The first production in the new facilities - the

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

Snow White "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

- opened on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

that year. In the summer of 2013 the theatre closed for major backstage refurbishment including a 23 line electric flying system (moving from 17 lines of three line hemp) and an electric orchestra pit. There were also minor improvements for access. The theatre reopened on 14 September. This theatre, along with '' The Landmark,

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...

'' is managed by ''The North Devon Theatres' Trust'', a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

promoting the arts (including dance, drama, literature, music and singing) in North Devon. On Monday 23 January 2017, it was announced that North Devon Theatres Trust which owns this theatre and The Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe, had gone into administration. The theatre was bought out of administration and is now run by

Parkwood Theatres Parkwood may refer to: Places ;Australia * Parkwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Parkwood, Queensland ;Canada * Parkwood, Ontario, a community in Greater Sudbury ;England * Park Wood, Maidstone, Maidstone, Kent * Park Wood, Medway, ...

. The shows started again on 31 May 2017. On Friday 23 November 2018, it was announced that Selladoor Worldwide had been awarded a 10 Year Contract to manage the venue.

References

{{reflist

External links

North Devon Theatres Trust
Buildings and structures in Barnstaple Theatres in Devon