Theatre Royal Hyde
Photographs by Gerald England

The Theatre Royal in Hyde opened in November 1902. In 1914 a cinema screen was added. The final live show was Annie Get Your Gun in October 1974. A second cinema was built upon the stage, resulting in Royal One and Royal Two twin cinemas, losing the title of Theatre altogether.

In 1992 the Theatre Royal closed completely and was soon on the market for sale. Initially it failed to attract a buyer but the listing of the building prevented its demolition. The theatre is presently owned by an investment company. It is in need of extensive repair and restoration to return it to its former glory and enable the doors to open again.

Theatre Royal Onward is a charitable trust founded in 1999. Its aims are

• The preservation and restoration, for the public benefit, of the Theatre Royal, Corporation Street, Hyde, Cheshire, being a building of particular historical and architectural interest.
• To advance the education of the public in performing arts in particular through the acquisition, repair, maintenance and management of the Theatre Royal and continuing its use as a public venue for performances, cinema and community activities.
• To advance the education of young people in the crafts associated with the performing arts through the provision of but not exclusively theatre workshops.

Much further information can be found on the Theatre Royal Onward website

As part of the Heritage Open Weekends the theatre was open for visitors in September 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Many of the photos below were taken on those open days