25 February 2011
NEWS RELEASE
THEATRE ROYAL STAGES HISTORIC AUCTION
Theatre Royal Newcastle is to host a grand auction to sell off a wide range of
its interior furnishings, including auditorium seats, before it ‘goes dark’ for its
anniversary restoration this Summer. The auction will take place on Sunday 6
March in the Theatre itself, and is open to the public.
Successful bidders on the day could walk away with their own piece of Theatre
Royal history*, including seats from the auditorium, curtains, drapes, brass fittings
and lights, coal scuttles and chandeliers. The first 200 people to arrive will also
receive a cupcake and glass of prosecco courtesy of Cake. and Popolo!
A total of 445 Auditorium Seats will be up for grabs, (comprising single seats plus lots
of two, 10, 15 and 20), as well as 11 ‘Celebrity Seats’ – carrying the names of such
greats as Sir Ian McKellen, Kenneth Brannagh and Ridley Scott.
The auction will take place in the Theatre Royal Auditorium, and doors will open at
1pm for bidders to register and browse the lots. Bidding will begin at 2pm with the
help of local auction house Anderson & Garland.
Local social enterprise Lydia's House will be at the auction to tell successful bidders
about their unique seat customisation service.
The Theatre Royal is one of only seven Grade 1 Listed theatres in England and is
regarded by many as the UK’s finest theatre building. Over 174 years it has been
renovated many times, and following a major fire after a performance of Macbeth in
1899, the entire auditorium was re-designed by one of the world’s greatest theatre
architects, Frank Matcham.
This 2011 restoration will recreate Matcham’s classic 1901 Edwardian auditorium
design and also introduce the highest modern standards of comfort and improve
energy efficiency. The auction will sell-off all the interior elements that aren’t
authentic to this scheme and make way for new seating at all levels as well as new
lighting and ventilation, fabrics, carpets, paintwork and extensive gold-leaf work.
The work, costing £4.75m in total, is set to take place between March and September
this year in readiness for the Theatre’s 175th birthday in 2012. During this time, there
will be no shows, but all the other Theatre functions will continue as normal, including
the Learning programme and Box Office. There will also be a new Heritage Learning
Programme for visitors to explore the Theatre’s colourful history.
Richard Berg Rust, director of development at the Theatre Royal, said: “The Grand
Auction is a very exciting event for us, something which has never been done here
before. As this is a sympathetic restoration, it’s important to remove all the interior
furnishings that don’t conform to Matcham’s original design. However, a lot of these
items carry historical importance, are completely unique and, what’s more, every item
tells a story. We urge people to come along and be part of this historic event. It’s not
everyday you get the chance to own a piece of the Theatre Royal!”
The auction is taking place thanks to the kind support of our sponsors Anderson &
Garland, Cake. , Popolo, and Lydia’s House.
Julian Thomson from Anderson & Garland, who will be conducting the auction, said:
“We are delighted to be involved with this project. It strikes me as highly appropriate
that we, a long established city firm dating back to 1840, should be helping out
another fine city institution. As a supporter of the Theatre Royal myself, it will be
something of a thrill to be on stage conducting the auction in a spot where so many
illustrious actors have gone before me.”
To place a sealed bid, view terms and conditions or for more information,
please e-mail hannah.griffith@theatreroyal.co.uk or call 0191 244 2599.
More information can also be found on the Theatre Royal website:
www.theatreroyal.co.uk/restoration.
* Please note, all items will be available for collection on March 15 only.
-ENDS-
For additional information / images / interview requests etc, please contact Marianne
Quayle , Press & Communications Officer for the Theatre Royal on 0191 244 2518 or
email marianne.quayle@theatreroyal.co.uk
IMAGE CAPTION
Catherine Trillo, chief executive of Lydia’s House, with some examples of restored
auditorium seats from the Theatre Royal (Image courtesy of NCJ media)