Wexford Transformed.


Theatre Royal Wexford.	*Theatre Royal Reconstruction 1987.*	A Wexford Festival Opera Project.
Theatre Royal Wexford.	*Theatre Demolished January 2006. Click Here*	A Wexford Festival Opera Project.
Home. Theatre Royal Wexford. Theatre Royal Demolition. Wexford Opera House. Wexford Bridge. The Bullring. Wexford Quays. Wind Farm. The Talbot Hotel Other Projects. Top of Page.		The Theatre Royal Wexford was built by William Taylor who printed and published "The Wexford Herald". The theatre opened on the 4th. January 1832. This is an artists impression, in cross-section, of how the building looked at that time.
		The Theatre Royal was built before such luxuries as coal gas, and was lighted by candles and oil. There are unconfirmed reports that it originally seated 700 on bench type seats. In 1942 the building was refurbished and remodelled as a Cinema. The stage was retained as was the name. It reopened with a production of the Mikado performed by the Wexford Musical Society (now Wexford Light Opera Society) on the 6th April 1942. In 1961 the building was again refurbished as these two photographs show. It reopened with the festival of that year. The foyer was rebuilt in 1973 and new dressing rooms were added in 1979.
		The theatre is "property locked" and so the only way it could develop was up. In February 1987 work commenced on extending the circle and the rear stalls to allow for an additional 100 seats.
		The "box section" in the corner of the stalls was also removed to provide additional seating on the ground floor.
		Five steel girders each weighing over 1 tonne provide the support for the cantilever structure housing the upper seating levels of the extended circle
		This structure provides the bulk of the additional seating.

		The framework was then clad with insulated panelling and made weatherproof.
		With over 100 extra people it was necessary to increase the volume of the building. This was achieved by removing the plaster board ceiling thus bringing the theatre's huge attic space into the auditorium.
		This revealed the original king post roof trusses of 1832 and it was decided to incorporate and feature them in the design.
		The A-roof was insulated, slabbed and plastered and finished with decorative plaster mouldings. The roof trusses were cleaned, treated and chamfered and made ready for painting.
		With only weeks to go to reopening the work continued to finish on time. As the internal scaffolding and planking was removed the true extent of what had been achieved was slowly revealed.
		The enlarged Theatre Royal was now ready to welcome its first audience.
		The Theatre Royal Wexford was re-opened by The President of Ireland Dr. Patrick J. Hillery on the 5th. September, 1987. The opening concert was sung by German soprano Daniela Bechly accompanied on piano by John O'Connor.
	Murray O'Laoire Associates Consulting architect. Albert Lennon. Architect. RichardBrowne & Sons. Contractor. Cost Ir£200.000 (€260,000 Apx.)


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	Site Created 29th April 2001. Best Viewed 800 x 600 Updated 28th february 2007. Version 6.00 All images on this site are the property of Wexford Transformed unless otherwise stated. © 2007.