Theatre · Manchester, England
Royal Exchange Theatre
A theatre-in-the-round set inside the great hall of a former cotton exchange.
The Royal Exchange Theatre occupies the former Manchester Royal Exchange, once the world's largest cotton trading hall. After the exchange ceased trading, a theatre company founded by Michael Elliott, Braham Murray, Richard Negri and others created a playhouse inside it, and Laurence Olivier opened it on 15 September 1976.
Its heart is a seven-sided, glass-walled theatre-in-the-round designed by Richard Negri, suspended from the great columns of the hall because the old trading floor could not carry its weight. The company produces classics, musicals and new writing, runs the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, and marks its 50th anniversary in 2026.
Highlights
- Theatre-in-the-round module inside a cotton exchange
- Great Hall with its glass domes
- Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting
- 50th anniversary season in 2026
