Venue: Theatre Royal
Town: Wexford, IE

The Theatre Royal, was an opera house and performance venue in Wexford Ireland which opened in 1832 and closed in 2005. It was the home of the annual Wexford Festival Opera, and has now been replaced by The National Opera House. The theatre was constructed by William Taylor in 1831 and opened in January 1832. It became a social and cultural focus in the town during the 19th century, with frequent performances and visits from touring companies from England. The amateur Wexford Light Opera Society performed annually in the house. By 1942, the final private owner sold the building to a consortium, which converted it to a cinema. Despite extensive alterations, the stage was retained and the building continued to be used by amateur societies. The biggest alteration was the removal of "the gods" or upper balcony, replaced by a steeply raked circle which existed until the building closed (in 2005). This work meant that the Wexford Opera Festival was not held in 1960. The theatre was acquired by the Wexford Festival Trust in the 1950s and gradual restoration began to take place with a fundraising appeal being launched and help provided by the Irish Tourist Board. In 1973, work was undertaken in the foyers, and another major overhaul of the theatre was undertaken in 1987, although there was no need to miss a season as happened in 1960. A new foyer provided a more attractive entrance, extra rows of seats were cantilevered out over the back of the balcony, and a number of back-stage improvements were undertaken. The theatre re-opened on 5 September 1987, in time for the Wexford Opera Festival. This reconstruction allowed the festival's duration to be extended, and this was further helped by substantial foyer developments in 1993. Thus, the effect was a 28% increase in capacity per performance and a near doubling of seat capacity for the entire festival by the early 1990s, with sold-out houses being typical. As the 1990s progressed, the festival was able to acquire a number of