sponsored by Amedia (at) Tools
Time: 07:30 pm
Date: Nov 13, 2010
Location:
Cost: $0.00
This outstanding building (Grade I Listed) opened in 1867 and was designed by William B Parnell. It remains, substantially, today much as it was when it first opened. The theatre later became the Stoll Picture Theatre in 1919 (window in stained glass bearing new name still intact) and showed films exclusively from a projection box constructed in the 2nd (of 3) balconies until closure in 1974. When the screen was removed it was discovered that the final theatre set was still largely in place! It was restored as a live theatre but suffered a disasterous fire in 1985 when the stage was burned out (auditorium largely undamaged). The early Victorian stage machinery was painstakingly reconstructed and the theatre reopened. One of the most beautiful auditoriums in the country, the Opera House is well worth a visit if you are in Newcastle upon Tyne.