His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen

His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen was officially opened on 8 September 2005 by the theatre's patron His Royal Highness The Earl Of Wessex following an ambitious £7.8 million project to redevelop the city landmark.

The project was funded by Aberdeen City Council, with the help of a £2 million grant from the National Lottery Fund through the Scottish Arts Council, a contribution from Scottish Enterprise Grampian and through private sponsorship and fundraising.

The Theatre, which is grade A-listed, originally opened in 1906.  It was designed by the architect Frank Matcham who was responsible for a number of great theatres across the United Kingdom including The Kings Theatre in Glasgow, The Hackney Empire, London and the famous Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.

The project is the biggest refurbishment project in the theatre’s 99-year history and is the largest granite construction in the city in recent years.  It will breathe new life into the grand Edwardian building and will ensure it continues to attract a wide range of theatre productions.

The £7.8 million five-storey redevelopment will bring the theatre to life day and night. Front-of-house facilities have been completely modernised by revamping bars and toilets and by the addition of a restaurant, coffee shop and corporate hospitality area. The extension also makes the building fully accessible to theatre-goers with special needs. Technical and audio-visual equipment has been improved, with a new Green room for performers, upgraded dressing rooms and a purpose-built rehearsal and education area.

His Majesty’s Theatre is one of the major touring venues north of Scotland's central belt and receives annual revenue support from the Scottish Arts Council’s Drama Committee.

The auditorium has been sympathetically refurbished to retain its stunning Edwardian colour scheme, as befits a Grade A-listed building. The seats have been re-upholstered, and the leg room has been improved in the stalls by replacing the rows and offsetting the seats - therefore improving comfort and the overall experience at HMT.

Aberdeen Performing Arts General Manager Duncan Hendry said: 'I am sure as you enter through the stunning new foyer you will instantly appreciate the changes. The new box office, coffee shop and restaurant, will bring His Majesty’s to life both day and night.  Some of the other improvements are less obvious - being tucked away behind the scenes, but all are designed to ensure we attract high quality productions to the stage and that every customer has a magical and memorable experience.'

Did you know?

• 550 Square metres of Kemnay granite, enough to clad a tennis court, has been used on the new extension. His Majesty's Theatre is the only theatre in the UK to be completely built of granite, with the original granite also being sourced from Kemnay.
• Enough wallpaper was used in the redecoration of His Majesty's Theatre to stretch from the theatre to Bridge of Don. In keeping with theatre tradition, the Chief Executive’s office has been decorated with the same wallpaper and carpet as the auditorium.
• The skills of around 700 workman were used in the redevelopment of His Majesty's Theatre. A few of these men were involved in the previous refurbishment in the 1980s.
• A staggering 75,000 bricks were used in the redevelopment enough to clad the extension twice over.
• 50 tons of grout, the same weight as a new born blue whale, was used in the extension of His Majesty's Theatre.
• The redeveloped His Majesty's Theatre will have a total of 14 extra toilets.
• The two new lifts in His Majesty's Theatre, which will make the venue fully accessible, cost in excess of £100,000.

The City of Aberdeen

The City of Aberdeen has a population of 209,270 and has received £18.69 per person from the National Lottery Fund through the Scottish Arts Council.  Of 35 requests the Scottish Arts Council has made 29 awards worth £4,443,272.  Requests included: buildings including HMT and The Belmont Cinema, 17 awards for equipment including the Lemon Tree arts centre, and City Moves dance.  In addition two public arts projects have been awarded funds, the larger of which was for the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital.

• Aberdeen City Council (His Majesty’s Theatre) Buildings Award £2,000,000
• Aberdeen City Council (The Belmont Cinema) Buildings Award £445,486
• Lemon Tree (Arts venue) Trust Equipment Award £451,011
• The WASPS Trust Langstane Place (artists studios) Buildings Award £440,000
• Grampian University Hospitals Trust (Royal Aberdeen Childrens Hospital) Public Artworks Award £333,840
• North East of Scotland Music School Equipment Award £174,450

Frank Matcham - Theatre Architect

Arguably the greatest and most prolific of British theatre architects, Matcham and his contemporaries, C.J.Phipps; William G.R. Sprague; Bertie Crewe; Frank T.Verity; Walter Emden; Alfred Darbyshire; Ernest Runtz and W. & T.R. Milburn amongst others, were responsible for approximately 400 odd theatres and places of entertainment during the Late Victorian and Edwardian eras in the United Kingdom. Matcham never qualified as an architect and was snubbed by many in his profession, but he became the supreme example of his craft.

His first major job was to complete the Elephant and Castle Theatre in London, which Robinson had started. Following this, Matcham went from success to success and, over the next 30 years he became unrivalled as the most prolific theatre architect of all time.

It is impossible to be definitive as to his total output, but on current research we can say that he designed at least 80 theatres as original architect, and he refitted or worked on at least as many again. He also designed some pubs, cinemas, hotels and notably The County Arcade in Leeds and the Tower Ballroom and Circus in Blackpool.

Sadly, only some two dozen of his theatres survive with a further dozen having been drastically altered as bingo halls, nightclubs, cinemas etc.

Despite his vast output each theatre was unique and his ability to produce magnificent theatres on difficult sites speedily and economically led him to become highly respected by theatre owners and managers.  He developed close relationships with several managers especially Sir Oswald Stoll for whom he designed his supreme masterpiece The London Coliseum in 1904 as the flagship venue for his chain. Happily this theatre survives largely intact as the home of the English National Opera and was recently extensively refurbished.