King's Theatre: A Centenary Celebration 1906-2006

Early History

The King’s Theatre, designed by James Davidson of Coatbridge and John D Swanston of Kirkcaldy, opened on Saturday 8 December 1906 with a production of the pantomime Cinderella, starring Phyllis Dare and Dan Rolyatt.

Initially the theatre mainly offered variety bills, headlined by a well known star of the time. Thus The Great Lafayette made his Edinburgh debut in 1908, Harry Lauder first appeared in 1913, and Sarah Bernhardt was carried onto the stage in 1916.

1920s and 1930s

By the 1920s the programming had widened. Opera had first appeared in 1907 and the King’s had opera on the bill almost every year thereafter. Ballet, presented as part of the variety bills, took off with visits by Anna Pavlova, Alicia Markova and later, Margot Fonteyn. Local amateur companies were welcomed after The Bohemians Lyric Opera Company’s appearance in 1921.

In this period programming changed from variety to drama and revues. Sybil Thorndike made the first of her many visits in 1923, as did John Gielgud. Noel Coward appeared in the premiere of his own play Private Lives with Laurence Olivier in 1930. Comedy and light drama were headlined by popular actors such as Seymour Hicks and Matheson Lang.

As a touring theatre the King’s continued to attract celebrities like Ivor Novello, Edith Evans, Raymond Massey and Flora Robson. During World War II, not only did Robert Donat, Vivien Leigh, Donald Wolfit and Deborah Kerr add class to the drama, but Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann danced, and Malcolm Sargent conducted the London Philharmonic.

Post War King’s and a New Look  

After the war the King’s became a venue for the Edinburgh International Festival, founded in 1947.  In the early days both Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland appeared on the King’s stage. Other new directions included the Edinburgh Gang Show, established in 1960, and regular visits from Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera.

In the meantime Howard and Wyndham, who had taken over the theatre in 1928, carried out the first major refurbishment in 1951 which reduced seating capacity from 2,500 to 1,530. Although the theatre welcomed Stewart Grainger, Jean Simmons, Katharine Hepburn and a young Sean Connery, Howard and Wyndham began to struggle. To everyone’s relief the King’s was purchased by Edinburgh Corporation in 1969.

In 1985 Edinburgh District Council completed a £1.4 million refurbishment programme extending the orchestra pit but further reducing seating capacity to 1,350.  After re-opening, things looked bright as Wayne Sleep’s Hot Shoe Show sold out; however, the King’s soon found itself in a fight for audiences with the larger Playhouse and the re-vamped Festival Theatre, not to mention the Lyceum and the Traverse. The linking up with the Festival Theatre in 1998 under the management of Festival City Theatres Trust is generally seen as a positive move, but a feasibility report carried out by LDN Architects in 2002 for the Trust advised £14 million of renovation was needed if the King’s was to have any future.

Cinderella Returns for the Centenary Panto

In recent years big names such as Derek Jacobi, Leslie Nielson and Simon Callow still appear on tour, and there is more of a Scottish element with Siobhan Redmond, Tom Conti and Elaine C Smith returning regularly. However more large scale events tend to go to the Playhouse and Festival Theatres. Every spring the amateur companies take over for a week each, and November brings the Gang Show.

And of course there is still the annual Christmas pantomime. In the early days Jack Edge and Harry Gordon stole the shows; more recently Stanley Baxter was the beloved star. Nowadays it’s Allen Stewart and Andy Gray who front the annual festive fun. How appropriate for the centenary panto to be Cinderella, one hundred years after it opened the doors of the old lady of Leven Street.