The Royalty Theatre, Chester part II

The Black & White Picture Place

Memories of the Chester Royalty Theatre part II

Some period advertisments from the Chester Royalty Theatre. Left: the opening night, 1882, centre: 1948 and right: 1898.

“I can remember sitting in the Gods, which of course is right at the top, and fearing for my life as a child that I would fall over the balcony on to people below. Of course as soon as the pantomime started all fear was forgotten.
As a teenager I remember seeing the ‘Black Abbots’ perform. I was surprised at how funny Russ Abbot was as he used to play outside my house.
We had railings at the front of our house and my mother had a mirror in the front room, as it was called. On the wall opposite the window, Russ would climb on to the railings so he could see himself in the mirror and impersonate different people. 'There he is again' my mother would shout, shooing him off with a sweeping brush as my father was on nights and trying to sieep in the front bedroom.
Neville, my husband, remembers getting a free ticket at 14 to see Wilson Kettle and Betty. They were sand dancers and Betty was a new replacement. She made quite an impression on Neville as she had a wonderful figure”. Dorothy Carline, Chester Standard 1998

royalty interior 1943
The Royalty's luxurious interior in 1943..

interior of royalty
..and in the 1960s

royalty audience

royalty bar
The Royalty's bar

On to more memories of the Royalty Theatre...