Our History
Beginnings
The Royalty Theatre was established in 1925 as the Sunderland Drama Club. It was not situated initially on its present site, and its productions at that time took place at various venues around Sunderland, eventually settling at the Victoria Hall.
During World War II, Victoria Hall and other buildings used by the Sunderland Drama Club were destroyed, and productions moved to Barnes Park and the present building, a former church hall. In 1947, we took a lease of the Royalty building, which has been our home ever since.
New Home
The 1950s and 1960s saw us go from strength to strength, as alongside our regular dramatic offerings, we took home numerous awards from drama festivals across the north of England. In the 1970s, Sunderland Drama Club played host to a visit by Theatre Der Jugend from Essen, Sunderland’s twin town. They were an amateur group very similar to the Drama Club and performed Spur Der Leidenschaft (Cue For Passion) by Elmer Rice, but in German. These visits and our festival successes continued into the 1980s, and in 1985, our studio theatre was opened.
Sir Ian McKellen
In 2011, Sir Ian McKellen, in his role as Patron of the Little Theatre Guild, visited the theatre to see a production of Macbeth. National recognition for the theatre followed in 2015 when we were awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Sunderland.
