The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in the city of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary

Shakespearean 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 ...

actor

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. It was built in 1883 by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

C. J. Phipps at a cost of £17,000 on behalf of James B. Howard and Fred. W. P. Wyndham, two theatrical managers and performers whose partnership became the renowned

Howard & Wyndham Ltd Howard & Wyndham Ltd was a theatre owning, production and management company named after John B. Howard and Frederick W. P. Wyndham, founded in Glasgow in 1895, and which became the largest of its type in Britain. The company continued well into the ...

created in 1895 by Michael Simons of Glasgow. With only four minor refurbishments, in 1929, 1977, 1991, and 1996, the Royal Lyceum remains one of the most original and unaltered of the architect's works."Building history"
Royal Lyceum website Opening night was 10 September 1883 with a performance of ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' by the company of the London Lyceum Theatre, and starring Henry Irving and

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

. In 1965, the building was purchased by the Edinburgh Corporation from Meyer Oppenheim to house the newly formed Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, who are now the permanent residents, leasing it from the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

."Company history"
Royal Lyceum website The Royal Lyceum has been one of the principal venues for the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

since the festival's inception in 1947, its owners renting out the building for three weeks every August for visiting companies, and often for a further week to

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

companies. The Royal Lyceum has primarily been known for its provision of drama. It has also presented some significant opera, from the first tours of

Carl Rosa Carl August Nicholas Rosa (22 March 184230 April 1889) was a German-born musical impresario best remembered for founding an English opera company known as the Carl Rosa Opera Company. He started his company in 1869 together with his wife, Euphro ...

in the latter part of the 19th century, through to the early decades of

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. Some important operas received their first Scottish performance at the Lyceum, including ''

Madam Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'', '' Manon'' and ''

Die Meistersinger Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

''. The theatre was the first in Britain to be fitted with an iron safety curtain, and the first in Scotland to use electricity for house lighting. David Greig took over from Mark Thomson as artistic director in 2016.

Ghosts

The theatre is believed to be haunted, and there have been sightings of a blue lady who is believed to be

, the actress who performed at the Lyceum's first show. In addition, a shadowy figure has been reportedly seen high above the stage in the lighting rig. Many sightings have been reported to have been accompanied by a ringing noise.

References

External links

Official website

* A digitised collection of 6
Royal Lyceum theatre posters
from 1870 to 1900 at

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

Academic, refereed papers on the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company 1965 to 2000, by Paul Iles {{Authority control Theatres in Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Charles J. Phipps buildings Reportedly haunted locations in Edinburgh Theatres completed in 1883 Producing theatres in Scotland

Ghosts

See also

References

External links