Theatre Royal Waterford
Georgian horseshoe theatre on The Mall, the oldest continuously working theatre in Ireland.
The Theatre Royal stands on The Mall in Waterford's Viking Triangle, within the Georgian civic building that also houses City Hall. It was founded as a patent theatre in 1785, with a playhouse and assembly rooms designed by the Waterford architect John Roberts, and it opened with As You Like It. Because performances have continued on the site ever since, it is generally described as the oldest continuously operating theatre in Ireland.
The auditorium is an intimate horseshoe of three tiers seating about 430, with a proscenium some 13.5 metres wide; it was restored and re-equipped in the late 2000s. Programming covers drama, music, comedy, dance and pantomime, and the theatre is the long-standing home of the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, later reshaped as the Waterford International Festival of Musical Theatre. It is operated as a not-for-profit venue with Waterford City and County Council.
Highlights
- Founded as a patent theatre in 1785 to designs by John Roberts
- Three-tier horseshoe auditorium seating around 430
- Ireland's oldest continuously operating theatre
- Home of Waterford's long-running international musical theatre festival
