In the 1930s like many city theatres, it had been policy to close during the summer while many city residents headed to the coast for their holidays, but this all changed in 1933 when the then managing director of Howard & Wyndham, A. Stewart Cruikshank, decided to experiment with a quality show, a cocktail of music, laughter and song, to outmatch the seaside-style summer shows.

The record run of 31 weeks under the top billing of Dave Willis remains unbroken in variety history.

These included Laurence Olivier, Sarah Bernhardt, Ray Walston, Katharine Hepburn and Tyrone Power.

Around the same period, the theatre gained an extension to the rear as part of the Charing Cross Complex which was built to the west of the building in the early 1970s.

However, the King's has been most famous among locals for its annual pantomime - which has starred variety greats such as Stanley Baxter, Jimmy Logan and Rikki Fulton.

The programme was presented by Elaine C Smith and featured interviews with Gerard Kelly, Stanley Baxter, Paul O'Grady, Tony Roper, Nicholas Parsons and Johnny Beattie, among others.

Originally, an iron canopy, made by the Saracen Foundry in Possilpark, Glasgow, wrapped around the front of the building, although this appears to have been removed by the Second World War, possibly for munitions production.

The facade on Bath Street is a mix of styles, with influences of Baroque and Art Nouveau in red Dumfriesshire sandstone.

A pair of two storey pavilions stand near either end of the Bath Street elevation, one providing access to the main foyer whilst the other houses the scenery dock, and opens straight onto the stage.

Originally a female statue stood on top of either pavilion, but these were removed during the war period, to prevent them becoming damaged, however were subsequently misplaced, and have never been rediscovered.

Above the proscenium an elegant design with cherubs flanking a crown and a K/T emblem provides a focal point to the theatre when the curtain is down.

[1] Subsequent alterations to the theatre includes the unfortunate removal of a modern canopy, which ran along most of the Bath Street elevation.

Other restoration work includes new carpet within the auditorium, new orchestra pit railing, and preparations for the installation of air conditioning.

Stanley Baxter, one of Britain's top pantomimist, performed at the King's in the 1980s in Cinderella, which he wrote and directed, and returned for his final pantomime appearance in 1991.

Dunbar created the role of Mrs McConkey in Cinderella in 2012 and most recently appeared as The Slave of The Ring in Aladdin in 2013.

Elaine C Smith returned to the King's Theatre pantomime in 2017, again playing the dame role, alongside Johnny Mac.